Which statement correctly pairs diluting fluid tonicity with the cell type?

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Multiple Choice

Which statement correctly pairs diluting fluid tonicity with the cell type?

The idea being tested is how diluting fluids are chosen to prepare counts for different blood cells based on tonicity. For red blood cells, you want the cells to remain intact, so the diluting fluid is isotonic with RBCs (roughly 0.9% saline is a common example). If the diluent were hypotonic or hypertonic, RBCs would swell and lyse or shrink and deform, giving an inaccurate RBC count. For white blood cells, the goal is to remove the abundant RBCs so they don’t interfere with counting. This is achieved by using a diluting fluid that lyses RBCs, which means a hypotonic environment relative to RBCs. WBCs endure this lysing step and can be counted more accurately. So, the correct pairing is: RBC diluting fluids are isotonic, and WBC diluting fluids are hypotonic (to lyse RBCs while preserving WBCs).

The idea being tested is how diluting fluids are chosen to prepare counts for different blood cells based on tonicity. For red blood cells, you want the cells to remain intact, so the diluting fluid is isotonic with RBCs (roughly 0.9% saline is a common example). If the diluent were hypotonic or hypertonic, RBCs would swell and lyse or shrink and deform, giving an inaccurate RBC count.

For white blood cells, the goal is to remove the abundant RBCs so they don’t interfere with counting. This is achieved by using a diluting fluid that lyses RBCs, which means a hypotonic environment relative to RBCs. WBCs endure this lysing step and can be counted more accurately.

So, the correct pairing is: RBC diluting fluids are isotonic, and WBC diluting fluids are hypotonic (to lyse RBCs while preserving WBCs).

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