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Card 12 / 21:
During a party, Eli loses a bet and is forced to drink a bottle of lemon juice. Not long thereafter, he begins complaining of having difficulty breathing, and his friends take him to the local emergency room. There, he is given an intravenous solution of bicarbonate. Why?
Lemon juice, like any acid, releases hydrogen ions in solution. As excessive H + enters the digestive tract and is absorbed into blood, Eli’s blood pH falls below 7.35. Recall that bicarbonate is a buffer, a weak base that accepts hydrogen ions. By administering bicarbonate intravenously, the emergency department physician helps raise Eli’s blood pH back toward neutral.
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