D2.3.7—Medical applications
Medical fluids and organ baths must be isotonic so body cells avoid harmful osmotic swelling or shrinkage during treatment and transplantation.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2025
- Objective
- D2.3.7
- Level
- HL
Exam analysis
Chance of appearing1%of analysed past papers
Latest appearanceNovember 2025
Most common paperPaper2
Typical marks4
Common command terms
- Explain
Recent exam appearances
November 2025Paper2 ["HL"] · TZ19(c)[ 4 ]D2.3.7—Medical applications
Practice this objective
Coverage 2025–2025 · Updated 16 Jul 2026
Concept essentials
- Isotonic fluids prevent net water movement into or out of body cells.
- Hypotonic medical fluids can cause cell swelling or lysis.
- Hypertonic fluids can cause cell shrinkage or crenation.
- Transplant organs are bathed in solutions matching tissue osmolarity.