Abstract
The anesthesia flowmeter is described as having a constant pressure and variable orifice. Gas flows under the float raising it until the bobbin or ball stops as its weight is supported by the pressure difference above and below. Flow tubes are specific to the physical characteristics of each gas. Flow rate is dependent on the viscosity of the gas at low, on laminar flow, and on density at higher turbulent flow. Flow rates are read at the top of a bobbin and the middle of a ball. Flowmeter leaks are downstream from all machine safety devices except the O2 monitor. In the presence of a flowmeter leak, hypoxic mixtures are less likely when the oxygen flowmeter is placed downstream from the others.
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References
Aitkenhead AR, Moppett IK, Thompson JP. Smith & Aitkenhead’s textbook of anesthesia. 6th ed. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2013.
Morgan EG, Mikhail MS. Clinical anesthesiology, Chapter 4, 4th ed.
Barash PG, Cullen BF. Clinical anesthesiology, Chapter 26, 6th ed. 2009.
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Carter, J.B. (2017). Flowmeters. In: Raj, T. (eds) Data Interpretation in Anesthesia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55862-2_80
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55862-2_80
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