Cells are the basic building components of living creatures. These “basic units of life” work together to build tissues, organs, and organ systems and when there are abnormalities and maladaptation within these units, development of disease can ensue (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). All cells have the same basic components while having diverse roles and properties. The essential components of cells include the cytoplasm, organelles (including the nucleus), and cell membrane (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). The morphology of cells is significant since it defines the functionality of the cell and how it will survive in the human body. Identifying the shape, structure, size and overall form of cells is a procedure that helps us understand how cells form communities and mature into tissues, organs and systems. I think of a single cell like a lego. Once you add more legos together, they have the power to construct something useful. The function of one lego is not as significant as the purpose of the structure formed at the end of the lego building process; yet each individual lego serves a part to support the broader structure.
Case Study – 15 year old guy appears after eating windshield wiper fluid to get high. Windshield wiper fluid consumption can cause methanol poisoning. In and of itself, methanol has a very low intrinsic toxicity; but, it is converted to highly poisonous chemicals, including formaldehyde and for magic acid, which can induce blindness, unconsciousness, and metabolic abnormalities that are often life-threatening (Pressman et al., 2020). (Pressman et al., 2020).
• Osmolarity: Osmolarity refers to the number of solute particles per 1 L of solvent. This measure is primarily used to describe fluids outside the body and normal serum range is 282-295 mosm/kg (mmol/kg). The osmolal gap is a disparity between the measured osmolality and the estimated osmolality. The usual gap is roughly 6 mosmol/L (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Ingestion of windshield wiper fluid would result in a high (>10 mosmol/L) osmolal gap. This high osmolal gap indicates there is an unknown solute present in the body.
• Sodium Levels: Sodium levels would fall as water transfers from the ECF into the ICF, thus diluting the sodium levels. Cells then begin to expand, creating inflammation in the body. Brain cells are of special importance in this setting. Metabolic acidosis sets in.
• Oncotic Pressure: Oncotic pressure, also known as colloid osmotic pressure, is a sort of osmotic pressure that serves to maintain water inside the circulatory space by way of proteins, mainly albumin. In this situation, the consumption of windshield wiper fluid can induce a decrease in the amount of albumin in the body which in turn would result in a low oncotic pressure. A low oncotic pressure results in the inability to draw water into the cell, therefore the water lingers in the interstitial space, resulting in edema (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). (Dlugasch & Story, 2021).
