Many disease processes can affect the perfusion– ventilation ratio resulting in minimal to profound hypoxaemia and cardiac arrest. Complete the following exercise to understand how common medical...

Many disease processes can affect the perfusion– ventilation ratio resulting in minimal to profound hypoxaemia and cardiac arrest. Complete the following exercise to understand how common medical problems can impact on the respiratory system:

Identify at least three physiological problems that will affect the perfusion–ventilation ratio; the first is identified for you.

If an individual has a reduced oxygen, carrying capacity within the blood due to a form of anaemia they will not be able to efficiently circulate the oxygen resulting in hypoxaemia. Interestingly their oxygen saturation level may read 100% because the red blood cells they have are fully saturated. Once you have identified a further two abnormalities, add these to your portfolio.