You are a scientist who has been hired to write a screenplay for a popular TV series. The plot involves the discovery by a rogue botanist of a plant toxin that interferes with the function of the exchange pump responsible for the chloride shift. This scientist provides the toxin to bioterrorists. What should you write for the coroner to say about symptoms in the poisoning victims?
What will be an ideal response?
The chloride shift is the transport process that occurs in red blood cells and is necessary for normal carbon dioxide
transport. In this process, a bicarbonate ion is exchanged for a chloride ion. As a result, the red blood cell loses
bicarbonate, which carries a negative charge, but gains a chloride ion, thus maintaining its membrane potential.
Losing the bicarbonate prevents the chemical reaction that produces bicarbonate from carbon dioxide and water
from reaching equilibrium. Bicarbonate is the most important extracellular buffer in the body. Without the
transporter function, bicarbonate will build up inside the red blood cell and will not be maintained in the plasma.
With a reduction in plasma bicarbonate, acidosis will result. An increase in pulmonary ventilation is triggered by
acidosis and can help reverse this process, but it may be unable to compensate fully for the lack of bicarbonate
buffer. Chapter 20 covers some of the physiological consequences of acidosis.
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The two bursae associated with the shoulder joint that are joined together are the
A. subacromial and subcoracoid. B. subacromial and subdeltoid. C. subcoracoid and subdeltoid. D. subcoracoid and subscapular.
Chemical reactions in a living system function to
A) only transfer energy from one molecule to another. B) only use energy stored in a molecule. C) create new energy. D) transfer energy from one molecule to another or use energy stored in a molecule.
Which vein drains the small intestines, large intestines, and the pancreas?
A) lumbar vein B) gastrosplenic vein C) caudal vein D) superior mesenteric vein
Which of the following correctly describes water movement across the epithelial cells lining the collecting duct?
A) Water can permeate the lipid bilayer at all times. B) Water can permeate the phospholipid bilayer only in the presence of aldosterone. C) Water can permeate the apical membrane through aquaporin-2 and the basolateral membrane through aquaporin-3, but aquaporin-2 is only present in the presence of ADH. D) Water can permeate the basolateral membrane through aquaporin-2 and the apical membrane through aquaporin-3, but aquaporin-2 is only present in the presence of aldosterone. E) Water can permeate the phospholipid bilayer only in the presence of ADH.