Serum osmolarity measures solute concentration in blood serum, which can affect cells through osmosis. It is important in medicine as it can diagnose deficiencies and high intakes of certain foods or minerals, and indicate health abnormalities.
Serum osmolarity is the actual solute concentration in blood serum and is measured in osmoles. Blood serum includes everything in the blood except red blood cells or erythrocytes. This measurement is an important tool in medicine because osmotic pressure can affect all cells in the body, due to the power of osmosis and the permeability of the cell wall to water but not many solutes.
Osmolarity is the measure of how many solute molecules are contained within a certain volume of liquid, and indicates the molecular molarity of a solute dissolved in solution. One reason this is an important measure when working in biological systems is the fact that water moves through osmosis, being attracted through diffusion and concentration gradients to areas of higher ion or solute density, rather than than areas with lower solute density. Osmosis can force water into cells or extract it from them, depending on the relative concentration of ions and solutes within cells to the concentration of solutes in extracellular fluid such as blood serum.
Cell walls function, among other things, as semipermeable membranes. While there are certain channels in cells called “aquaporins” that allow water to flow in and out freely, ion concentrations within cells are regulated with channels, gates and ion pumps. Sodium, calcium and potassium are common ions found within cells whose concentration is highly regulated.
If the osmolarity of the serum is too high, this indicates that the solute concentration of the blood serum will tend to leach water from within the cells due to the effects of osmosis. Water will be attracted to the extracellular space, where the concentration of solutes is higher due to osmosis. This can cause cells to shrink and, in extreme cases, necrotize some cells.
Too low an osmolarity indicates a lack of sufficient ions or solutes in the blood serum, which creates a problem of hypotonia. When this happens, cells absorb too much water due to the relative concentration gradients of solutes across the cell membrane. In extreme cases, this can cause cell death by apoptosis.
Serum osmolarity can be used to diagnose dietary deficiencies or dangerously high intakes of certain foods or minerals. Too few ions or solutes in blood serum can be dangerous, which is why it’s important to drink electrolyte fluids during times of heavy water loss through sweating. The measurements can also be used as indicators for other health abnormalities, such as an inability or deficiency in the ability to process sugar.
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