A patient with severe chest trauma is unable to ventilate effectively. Which of the following best explains the immediate physiological consequence regarding gas exchange?
Reduced oxygen diffusion from alveoli to blood
Severe chest trauma (e.g. flail chest, pneumothorax) prevents adequate expansion of the lungs, so alveolar ventilation falls.
With less fresh air reaching the alveoli, alveolar oxygen tension drops and less oxygen diffuses across the alveolar–capillary membrane into the blood, causing hypoxaemia (with CO2 retention).
Kidney bicarbonate reabsorption is a slower compensatory change, not the immediate consequence; CO2 release and haemoglobin oxygen affinity are not improved by hypoventilation.
Hence, Reduced oxygen diffusion from alveoli to blood.
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Important Questions from Physiology
If a person touches a hot surface and quickly pulls their hand away, which type of nerves are primarily responsible for sending the signal to move the hand?
What is the primary function of the baroreceptors located in the carotid sinus and aortic arch?
During the menstrual cycle, what typically occurs when estrogen and progesterone levels drop at the end of the cycle?
Which of the following organs play(s) the primary role in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the human body?
What is the primary function of alveoli in the lungs?
