What Is O2 Saturation?
The scientific measurement of O2 saturation, or oxygen saturation, is a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in an object. In most cases, this measurement is used to refer to how much oxygen is dissolved in water or some other form of liquid. The measurement of O2 saturation can be used for a variety of medical and environmental purposes.
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Medical O2 Saturation
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In the medical field, the most common use of the measurement O2 saturation is to measure the percent of oxygen in a person's bloodstream. In medical slang, this measurement is known by the term "sats." If a person has a low percentage of oxygen in his bloodstream, he may risk developing hypoxemia, which can lead to blue discoloration of the skin.
Venous O2 Saturation
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This is the measurement used in medical facilities to determine the amount of oxygen that a person's body consumes. A person that has a venous O2 saturation of less than 60 percent may risk developing a damage and decay of tissue. The measurement is taken by doctors utilizing a machine that measures both the heart and lung activity in order to determine how much oxygen is needed for that person.
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Tissue O2 Saturation
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Tissue O2 saturation is the measure of how much oxygen has been dissolved into a person's tissue and another measurement found in the medical field. It is basically a more focused version of the venous O2 saturation measurement found above in Section 2. The levels of a person's tissue O2 saturation are measured by a near infrared spectroscopy.
Saturation of peripheral O2
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The measurement of saturation of peripheral O2 is the measurement of how much oxygen has been dissolved in the hemoglobin of a person's bloodstream in his circulatory system. In other words, it is the amount of oxygen that the red blood cells in the person's body is carrying. It is a measure of how well blood is pumping through a person's body. A normal measurement of saturation of peripheral O2 is about 96 percent. It can be measured by using a pulse oximeter.
Aquatic Measurements
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O2 saturation is also measured in aquatic environments in order to understand whether an area of water has a healthy amount of oxygen for certain organisms to survive in them. If an area does not have enough O2 saturation, certain animals and plants will not get enough oxygen to survive. In the same way, if an environment has too high of O2 saturation (known as "supersaturation") animals and plants may experience decompression sickness and die.
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References
- Photo Credit scientist professor working in the laboratory image by Canakris from Fotolia.com
