A quantitative analysis of oxygen release due to changes in P50 and venous PO2.

It is almost impossible to estimate the amount of oxygen released from hemoglobin on the basis of the P50 values without calculation, because of the shape of the oxygen dissociation curve. For this reason, we prepared two tables : one indicating the saturation of hemoglobin with oxygen in the venous blood as influenced by venous Po2 and P50 (Table I) and the other, the oxygen release from the arterial blood as influenced by venous Po2 and P50 (Table II). Both tables are based o- the Hill's equation and normal entry data. Values of P50 vary from 20 to 45 torr, while the range for venous Po2 is 5-50 torr. The discussion on possible use of the tables follows.