Case Study-

Disorders of Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

Amanda is an 18-year-old with anorexia nervosa. She was recently admitted to an eating disorders clinic with a BMI of 13.9, and although she was a voluntary patient, she was reluctant about the treatment. She was convinced she was overweight because her clothes felt tight on her. She complained that even her hands and feet "were fat." One of her nurses explained that a protein in her blood was low. The nurse further explained that, as difficult as it may be to believe, eating a normal healthy diet would make the "fat hands and feet" go away.

1. What protein do you suspect the nurse was referring to? How would a deficiency in this protein contribute to edema?
2. What is the difference between the physiology of pitting and nonpitting edema?
3. Because of her weakened condition, Amanda was moved around the ward in a wheelchair when she was not on bed rest. How does this affect her edematous tissues?