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Can someone explain this?
An anemic individual is expected to have which of the following conditions in systemic arterial blood?
Oxygen tension Oxygen Content
A elevated normal
B elevated reduced
C reduced normal
D normal reduced
E reduced reduced
I put A, answer is D :(
My logic is this: oxygen exchange in the capillaries is based on concentration, so oxygen will make its way into the blood stream from the alveoli, once picked up by RBC's, the oxygen molecules do not exert their tension, only free oxygen exerts tension in the blood (am I wrong on this?)
In anemia, lets say for this patient, there is reduced RBC's, so the concentration gradient still favors oxygen movement into the bloodstream in the lung capillaries, but since there are less RBC's the free oxygen in the blood is not picked up and exerts elevated tension, but overall oxygen content is "normal"
Where am I going wrong and why is the answer "D"?
An anemic individual is expected to have which of the following conditions in systemic arterial blood?
Oxygen tension Oxygen Content
A elevated normal
B elevated reduced
C reduced normal
D normal reduced
E reduced reduced
I put A, answer is D :(
My logic is this: oxygen exchange in the capillaries is based on concentration, so oxygen will make its way into the blood stream from the alveoli, once picked up by RBC's, the oxygen molecules do not exert their tension, only free oxygen exerts tension in the blood (am I wrong on this?)
In anemia, lets say for this patient, there is reduced RBC's, so the concentration gradient still favors oxygen movement into the bloodstream in the lung capillaries, but since there are less RBC's the free oxygen in the blood is not picked up and exerts elevated tension, but overall oxygen content is "normal"
Where am I going wrong and why is the answer "D"?
