To determine if a blood loss of 300 cc (or milliliters, ml) is life-threatening for an adult, we need to consider the total blood volume that an average adult has and calculate the percentage of blood loss.
1. Understanding the blood volume:
- Most adults have a blood volume ranging from 4 to 6 liters.
- Since 1 liter is equivalent to 1000 cc, this translates to:
- Minimum blood volume: 4 liters = 4000 cc
- Maximum blood volume: 6 liters = 6000 cc
2. Calculating the percentage of blood loss:
- The amount of blood lost is 300 cc.
- Calculate the percentage of blood loss with respect to the minimum and maximum blood volumes:
- For the minimum blood volume (4000 cc), the percentage of blood loss is:
[tex]\[
\left( \frac{300}{4000} \right) \times 100 = 7.5\%
\][/tex]
- For the maximum blood volume (6000 cc), the percentage of blood loss is:
[tex]\[
\left( \frac{300}{6000} \right) \times 100 = 5.0\%
\][/tex]
3. Determining if the blood loss is life-threatening:
- To assess if this percentage is life-threatening, it is commonly accepted that blood loss needs to be in the range of at least 10% or more to be potentially life-threatening.
- In this scenario:
- The percentage of blood loss ranges from 5.0% to 7.5%, which is below the 10% threshold.
Given these calculations, the blood loss of 300 cc is not life-threatening for an average adult who has between 4 to 6 liters of blood.
Conclusion:
The correct and most accurate answer is:
a. No; most adults have 4-6 liters of blood, so a loss of 300 cc would not be life-threatening.
