Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

In addition to its use in the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, PCO2 provides information on pulmonary alveolar gas exchange (ventilation). If PCO2 is high, there is not a sufficient degree of alveolar ventilation. This may be due to primary lung disease (inability of the lungs to ventilate properly) or to some other reason. If PCO2 is low, […]

To summarize plasma pH problems, in metabolic acidosis there is eventual HCO–3 deficit, leading to decreased plasma pH and decreased CO2 content (or CO2 combining power). In respiratory acidosis there is primary H2CO3 excess, which causes decreased plasma pH, but the CO2 content is increased due to renal attempts at compensation. In metabolic alkalosis there […]

The other major subdivision of alkalosis is respiratory alkalosis, which occurs when the respiratory mechanism blows off more CO2 than it normally would due to respiratory center stimulation from some cause. The main conditions in which this happens are the hyperventilation syndrome caused by hysteria or anxiety, high fever, and direct stimulation of the respiratory […]