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colleen colleen
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10 years ago
Diuretics cause the kidneys to produce large amounts of urine. Unfortunately, they can also cause the loss of large quantities of K+ in the urine. What effect might prolonged use of diuretics have on nerve or muscle cells?
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10 years ago
Low concentrations of potassium in the blood is a condition called hypokalemia. Interstitial fluids would similarly become low in K+. As the resting potential of nerve and muscle cells depends primarily on extracellular K+ concentration, the potential would be altered. Decreased extracellular K+ would increase the concentration gradient for movement of K+ out of the cells, which would gradually hyperpolarize the potential as positive ions exit and make the cells less excitable (farther from threshold).
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