What it means
How well oxygen moves from the air into the lungs, across into the blood and out to the tissues. It depends on breathing, healthy lungs, enough hemoglobinHEE-muh-gloh-binThe iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, and the blood test that measures it.hem/o bloodglobin proteinFull entry to carry the oxygen and a heart that pumps it around. Nurses judge it with pulse oximetryPULS ok-SIM-uh-treeA painless test that uses light through a finger, toe or earlobe to estimate how much oxygen the blood is carrying.ox- oxygen-metry measuringFull entry , arterial blood gasar-TEER-ee-ul BLUD GASA blood test from an artery that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and the blood's pH.Full entry , breathing rate and effort, skin color and mental status.
For the nurse
Early signs of poor oxygenation are restlessness, anxiety, confusion and a fast heart and breathing rate; cyanosissy-uh-NOH-sisA blue or gray color of the skin, lips or nail beds.cyan/o blue-osis abnormal conditionFull entry is a late sign. Raise the head of the bed, encourage deep breathing and coughing, and give oxygenOK-sih-jenA gas in the air that every cell needs, also given as a medicine at higher amounts than room air.Full entry as ordered.
In a chart
"Oxygenation improved after repositioning: SpO2 from 89% to 94% on 2 L nasal cannula."
At a glance
| Spanish | oxigenación |
|---|---|
| Also written | oxygenate, oxygenated, oxygenating |
Related terms
pulse oximetry
A painless test that uses light through a finger, toe or earlobe to estimate how much oxygen the blood is carrying.
oxygen
A gas in the air that every cell needs, also given as a medicine at higher amounts than room air.
respiration
Breathing air in and out, and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air, the blood and the cells.
hypoxia
A lower than normal level of oxygen in the body's tissues.
hypoxemia
A level of oxygen in the blood below normal.