Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 268, Issue 6 32-S39, Copyright © 1995 by American Physiological Society
Mathematical model of oxygen transport: a teaching aid for normal physiology adaptable to extracorporeal oxygenation circuits
M. Seear, B. Anderson, R. Hall and H. Hui
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children's Health: South Pacific, Auckland, New Zealand.
The ultimate aim of most intensive care therapies is to improve tissue
oxygen delivery; consequently, a detailed knowledge of this area of
physiology is important to a wide range of Critical Care Staff. We describe
a simple mathematical model of oxygen transport that was initially written
as a training aid for extracorporeal oxygenation training. The model has
subsequently proved useful for explaining the determinants of oxygen
transport to a broader audience. It is based on simple linear equations and
is easily displayed with a standard computer spreadsheet. Apart from its
teaching value, the model can also generate a graph of oxygen saturation
vs. inspired oxygen fraction for different degrees of pulmonary shunt. This
provides a noninvasive method for determining the magnitude of pulmonary
venous admixture and may also prove to have some clinical value.
