I often find that my students sometimes confuse oxygenation and ventilation as the same process. In reality they are really very different. Ventilation exchanges air between the lungs and the atmosphere so that oxygen can be absorbed and carbon dioxide can be eliminated. Oxygenation is simply the addition of oxygen to the body.Why do we need to understand this? Let’s look at some common examples. Along the way we will painlessly use the Alveolar Gas Equation to explain two common scenarios:
how hypoventilation causes hypoxia,
why abruptly taking all supplemental oxygen away from a carbon dioxide retainer will hurt them. Read More …