the.com/osmolality

The reason your cells either swell like sponges or shrivel like raisins.

means A measure of how many dissolved particles are packed into a kilogram of fluid, which determines which way water flows across a membrane.

from Built from 'osmo-', drawn from Greek 'osmos' meaning 'push' or 'thrust' (the same root as 'osmosis'), fused with '-ality' to make it an abstract, measurable noun. The term entered chemistry and physiology as scientists needed precise language for concentration measured per kilogram of solvent — a cousin, but not a twin, of 'osmolarity', which measures the same push per liter of solution instead.

unit
measured in milliosmoles per kilogram of solvent
blood normal
roughly 275 to 295 mOsm per kg
vs osmolarity
per kilogram of water, not per liter of solution
body's gauge
hypothalamus monitors it to trigger thirst and ADH
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