Generalized hypoxia

"Hypoxic hypoxia" redirects here. For other uses of the term "hypoxia", see Hypoxia (disambiguation).
Generalized hypoxia
Other namesArterial hypoxia[citation needed]
Oxygen sensor for hypoxia warning system, 1963
SpecialtyPulmonology

Generalized hypoxia is a medical condition in which the tissues of the body are deprived of the necessary levels of oxygen due to an insufficient supply of oxygen, which may be due to the composition or pressure of the breathing gas, decreased lung ventilation, or respiratory disease, any of which may cause a lower than normal oxygen content in the arterial blood, and consequently a reduced supply of oxygen to all tissues perfused by the arterial blood. This usage is in contradistinction to localized hypoxia, in which only an associated group of tissues, usually with a common blood supply, are affected, usually due to an insufficient or reduced blood supply to those tissues. Generalized hypoxia is also used as a synonym for hypoxic hypoxia[1][2] This is not to be confused with hypoxemia, which refers to low levels of oxygen in the blood, although the two conditions often occur simultaneously, since a decrease in blood oxygen typically corresponds to a decrease in oxygen in the surrounding tissue. However, hypoxia may be present without hypoxemia, and vice versa, as in the case of infarction. Several other classes of medical hypoxia exist.[2][1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mandal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Manninen and Unger 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).