About this document
Understanding V/Q Mismatch in Respiration by rroo3 is a document available to read on EtoBox.
Ventilation/perfusion matching is important for efficient gas exchange in the lungs. Four main causes of impaired matching are hypoventilation, diffusion impairment, intrapulmonary shunting, and V/Q mismatching. The most common cause of hypoxemia in patients with lung disease is V/Q mismatching. While increasing ventilation can return arterial CO2 levels to normal, it cannot fully correct hypoxemia caused by V/Q mismatching due to the shapes of the oxygen and carbon dioxide dissociation curves.
- Author
- rroo3
- Language
- EN