Describe the oxygen cascade in a person breathing room air at sea level.
This question could be answered with a description or a diagram but required an ordered
journey from the atmosphere to the mitochondria. This is commonly available in many texts
and most candidates answered the question well. Most candidates said the alveolar PO2 fell
solely because CO2 came out of the pulmonary capillary. Very few talked about oxygen
uptake into the capillary. Another common omission was failure to state normal values for the
A-a gradient.
The main points in the oxygen cascade:
In diagram form:
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