A baby is admitted to the hospital with a history of diarrhea and watery feces occurring over the last three days. The baby has
sunken fontanels, indicating extreme dehydration. On examination, the baby is found to have a bacterium induced colitis, and antibiotics are prescribed. Because of the baby's loss of intestinal juices, do you think that his blood would indicate acidosis or alkalosis? Explain your reasoning.
The baby’s blood would indicate acidosis, due to the intestinal juice passing through the large intestine with little or no time for re-absorption of water and substances such as bicarbonate ions dissolved in water by the large intestine.
