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Tonicity refers to the relative concentration of solute particles inside a cell, with respect to the concentration outside the cell.

Osmolarity refers to the movement of water from the inside to the outside of a cell, and vice versa

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Q: What is the difference between osmolarity and tonicity?
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How does tonicity relate to osmosis?

Tonicity refers to the measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient between two solutions. The higher the difference in the tonicity between the two solutions, the more osmosis transpires.


What's the difference between isotonicity and isoosmosis?

Tonicity is measure of the effective of osmotic pressure. Osmosis is the minimum pressure which needs to be applied to a solution.


Does survismeter measure osmolarity?

The survismeter measures osmolarity by developing a standard calibration between PCI (Physicochemical indicators such as viscosity, surface tension, friccohesity) and known values of osmolarity of some molecule.


Why is the tonicity of a solution important?

TONICITY describes the degree to which a solution can exert an osmotic pressure on a membrane. Particles which can freely cross a membrane do NOT affect tonicity. This is because they will freely move in order to achieve equilibrium. Therefore, tonicity is dictated by the particles than can't cross the membrane (such as proteins, which are usually too large to cross, or highly charged particles). Non-permeable particles will therefore force water to cross the membrane towards them in order to achieve equilibrium - they can therefore be said to exert an osmotic pressure on the membrane.Solutions can be HYPERTONIC (i.e. the surrounding solution contains a larger concentration of these non-permeable particles than inside the cell, causing water to LEAVE the cell) or HYPOTONIC (i.e. the opposite, where water moves INTO the cell). They can also be ISOTONIC (there is equilibrium of the non-permeable particles, so no water moves).There is a very important distinction between tonicity and OSMOLARITY: osmolarity ALSO takes into account the particles that CAN cross the membrane (the permeable ones). So a solution could be both HYPEROSMOLAR and ISOTONIC at the same time - one set of particles will be able to freely cross the membrane, so there will no net change in cell volume.


What is the tonicity of normal saline compared to your blood?

What is the tonicity of you blood


Connection between plasma osmolarity and total body water in mathematical equation terms?

Plasma Osmolarity =Total Body mOsm - Urine mOs-------------------------------------Total Body Water - Urine Volumeand: Total Body Osmolarity = PLasma Osmolarity x Weight x 0.6 Total Body Water = Weigth x 0.6


Does water flow from Low Osmolarity to High Osmolarity?

yes, water flows from low osmolarity to high osmolarity when two solutiona are separated by a semi-permeable membrane till the solutions on either side of the membrane attains equal osmolarity.


What does the term osmolarity means?

Osmolarity, which is also known as osmotic concentration, is the measure of solute concentration. The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed by Osm/L (pronounced "osmolar").


What is the osmolarity of 2 percent NaCl?

The osmolarity is 4 osmol/L.


What is the formula for osmolarity?

Osmolarity = Molarity x i i = number of particles produced when one formula unit of solute dissolves


What is the osmolarity of peripheral parenteral nutrition?

The osmolarity tends to be less than 600-900 mOsm/L


What solution has the same salt concentration as blood and is used for transfussion?

When giving an iso-osmotic transfusion you do not want a solution that has the same salt concentration as blood but rather has the same tonicity(osmotic pressure). This is crucial because if the tonicity of blood changes it can cause cells to burst or shrink depending on the direction of change of the tonicity. So in the case of iso-osmotic transfusion you would give a 0.9% solution of NaCl. To prove that this is iso-osmotic to blood(close to 300 mosm) look below: 0.9% means 0.9gNaCl/100ml= 9gNaCl/L=(9gNaCl/L)*(1mole/58.5g)= 0.153moles/L Osmolarity = molarity*(number of ions)=0.153Molar*2= 0.306 osm = 306 mosm Hope that helps