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Pulmonary Gas Exchange

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Book cover Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

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Abstract

The ultimate goal of the respiratory system is to exchange oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), to meet the metabolic needs of the body. In order to properly transfer both gases, ventilation and blood flow must be adequately apportioned and matched within the lungs. Of the four classic mechanisms determining abnormal arterial blood respiratory gases — alveolar hypoventilation, impaired alveolar-endcapillary diffusion to O2, increased shunt, and ventilation-perfusion (V̇a/Q̇) mismatching — the last is by far the most common cause of impaired pulmonary gas exchange in respiratory disease. All the abnormalities alluded to above except alveolar hypoventilation may be viewed as intra-pulmonary determinants of pulmonary gas exchange. Other key extrapulmonary determinants of respiratory blood gases include the fractional concentration of O2 in the inspired gas, the hemodynamic status (cardiac output), and the metabolic demands (O2 consumption) of the body.

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Authors
  1. R. Rodriguez-Roisin
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  2. J. Roca
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aintree Chest Clinic, Regional Thoracic Unit, Fazakerley Hospital, Longmoor Lane, Liverpool, L9 7AL, UK

    P. M. A. Calverley (Consultant Physician, Senior Fellow) (Consultant Physician, Senior Fellow)

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Liverpool, UK

    P. M. A. Calverley (Consultant Physician, Senior Fellow) (Consultant Physician, Senior Fellow)

  3. Department of Medicine, (Respiratory Division), Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK

    N. B. Pride (Consultant Physician, Professor of Respiratory Medicine) (Consultant Physician, Professor of Respiratory Medicine)

  4. Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, UK

    N. B. Pride (Consultant Physician, Professor of Respiratory Medicine) (Consultant Physician, Professor of Respiratory Medicine)

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Rodriguez-Roisin, R., Roca, J. (1995). Pulmonary Gas Exchange. In: Calverley, P.M.A., Pride, N.B. (eds) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-4525-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-4525-9_8

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