... flaccid and dehydrated to such an extent that it dies, because metabolic reactions cannot occur with the diluted solutes. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules only across a semi-permeable membrane down a concentration gradient. The amount of water in a cell affects many variables that are dependent on it, because the volume of water in a solution affects its concentration. Thus is water moves out of a cell, the concentration of the solutes in the cell increases because there is less water to dilute them. This can have drastic consequences because it affects the ionic potential and thus the rate at which the ions move out of the cell as well. This can cause problems because most tissues require an extracellular fluid high in sodium and chloride and low in potassium. If this is not provided, errors can occur in neural transmission that occurs via a movement of these ions ...

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