Abstract
Most oxygen is tranported to tissue cells across the walls of capillaries. The thin barrier between blood and the interstitial space and the relatively long contact time of blood within the capillary make diffusional oxygen exchange an effective process. Since most oxygen is carried in reversible combination with. hemoglobin inside the red cells (RBC), erythrocytes play a dominant role in any description of oxygen transport at the capillary level. The rate at which oxygen is delivered to a capillary is equal to the number of red cells entering the capillary per unit time (RBC flux) times the oxygen content per red cell. The amount of oxygen removed from an RBC as it traverses a capillary depends upon the radial gradient in oxygen partial pressure (PO2), the RBC flux and length of the capillary. The radial gradient in PO2 at the capillary wall is determined by tissue oxygen consumption, diffusion coefficient and solubility. In addition, the neighboring capillaries can influence the PO2 distribution in tissue.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Duling, B. R. The Preparation and Use of the Hamster Cheek Pouch for Studies of the Microcirculation. Microvasc. Res. 5: 423–429, 1973.
Duran, W. N. and Renkin, E. M. Oxygen Consumption and Blood Flow in Resting Mammalian Skeletal Muscle. Amer. J. Physiol. 226: 173–177, 1974.
Grubb, B. and Folk, G. E., Jr. Skeletal Muscle VO2 in Rat and Lemming: Effect of Blood Flow Rate. J. Camp. Physiol. 128: 185–188, 1978.
Honig, C. R., Frierson, J. L. and Nelson, C. N. O2 Transport and VO2 in Resting Muscle: Significance for Tissue-Capillary Exchange. Amer. J. Physiol. 220: 357–363, 1971.
Honig, C. R. and Odoroff, C. L. Calculated Dispersion of Capillary Trnasit Times: Significance for Oxygen Exchange. Amer. J. Physiol. 240: H199 - H208, 1981.
Klitzman, B. and Duling, B. R. Microvascular Hematocrit and Red Cell Flow in Resting and Contracting Striated Muscle. Amer. J. Physiol. 237: H481 - H490, 1979.
Meyerstein, N. and Cassuto, Y. Haematological Changes in Heat-Acclimated Golden Hamsters. Brit. J. Haenatol. 18: 417–423, 1970.
Pittman, R. N. and Okusa, M. D. Video Densitanetric determination of intravascular hemoglobin oxygen saturation in the terminal microvasculature. Physiologist 21: 92, 1978.
Popel, A. S. Mathematical Modeling of Convective and Diffusive Transport in the Microcirculation. In: Mathematics of Microcirculation Phenomena, ed. by J. F. Gross and A. S. Popel. New York: Raven Press, 1980, 63–88.
Wayland, H. and Johnson, P. C. Erythrocyte Velocity Measurement in Microvessels by a TWo-Slit Photometric Method. J. App1. Physiol. 22: 333–337, 1997.
Whalen, W. J., Buerk, D. and Thuning, C. A. Blood Flow-Limited Oxygen Consumption in Resting Cat Skeletal Muscle. Amer. J. Physiol. 224: 763–768, 1973.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pittman, R.N., Okusa, M.D. (1983). Measurements of Oxygen Transport in Single Capillaries. In: Bicher, H.I., Bruley, D.F. (eds) Oxygen Transport to Tissue—IV. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 159. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7790-0_47
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7790-0_47
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-7792-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-7790-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive