American journal of surgery
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Hypovolemic shock, if untreated for a while or if severe, results in an increase in intravascular capacity due to the opening of all capillaries at once. This expansion of the vascular capacity in patients with severe or untreated shock requires much more intravenous fluids for adequate treatment than the volume of blood lost. ⋯ Blood volume measurements are useless. The vascular space shrinks to normal after adequate resuscitation, creating relative hypervolemia.