Kidney dialysis relies on diffusion of various dissolved waste molecules (solutes) across a non-living semipermeable membrane. If the concentration of solutes in the blood increases over time before dialysis is administered, what will happen to the rate of dialysis when it occurs?

Question

Milo Harding

Biology

7 November, 06:06

Kidney dialysis relies on diffusion of various dissolved waste molecules (solutes) across a non-living semipermeable membrane. If the concentration of solutes in the blood increases over time before dialysis is administered, what will happen to the rate of dialysis when it occurs?

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Answers (1)

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Belen Glass · Answer 1

The rate of dialysis will be higher than the normal.

Explanation:

As the kidney dialysis relies on diffusion of various dissolved waste molecules across a non-living semipermeable membrane, the rate of dialysis will be affected by the concentration gradient of the solute molecules. If the amount of solute in the blood is increasing that means the concentration of the solute is increasing in the blood. Now, as dialysis will be performed, there will be a high concentration gradient between the blood and the dialysis fluid and thus under the influence of concentration gradient the molecules in blood will diffuse faster towards the dialysis fluid across the semipermeable membrane.