Pulse oximetry measures oxygen saturation (SaO2), which represents how much hemoglobin is saturated with oxygen. PaO2 is partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood. One addition concept here is the oxygen content of blood (CaO2), which ties SaO2 and PaO2 together. CaO2 = How much oxygen is carried by Hb + dissolved oxygen in blood. In other words, CaO2 = (Hb x SaO2 x 1.34) + (PaO2 x 0.003). [Constants you see have to do with the chemical and physical properties of Hb and blood.]