Question

You have spent 24 hours traveling from the U.S to New Zealand, on quite a few airplanes with many stops. Because of the stress, changes in time zones, and short blocks of time between planes, you find yourself tired with a headache when you arrive. You are severely dehydrated. A hematocrit value of your blood would be ________ than normal because ________.

Answer 1

Answer:

A hematocrit value of your blood would be greater than normal because of dehydration.

Explanation:

The hematocrit value is an indicator of the proportion of the solid components of blood (red blood cells) with respect to the liquid component (it means plasma). When you are severely dehydrated, the proportion of plasma diminish while the solid components remain the same. In consequence, the red blood cells concentration will be greater and the hematocrit value (solid components/plasma) will be higher than normal. This condition is reversible, if you drink enough water, your hematrocrit values will be normal again.