What is the difference between hypoxia and cyanosis

Your MyAccess profile is currently affiliated with '[InstitutionA]' and is in the process of switching affiliations to '[InstitutionB]'.

This div only appears when the trigger link is hovered over. Otherwise it is hidden from view. Forgot Username? About MyAccess If your institution subscribes to this resource, and you don't have a MyAccess Profile, please contact your library's reference desk for information on how to gain access to this resource from off-campus.

Learn More. Sign in via OpenAthens. Sign in via Shibboleth. AccessBiomedical Science. AccessEmergency Medicine. Case Files Collection. Clinical Sports Medicine Collection. Davis AT Collection. Davis PT Collection. Murtagh Collection. About Search. Enable Autosuggest. You have successfully created a MyAccess Profile for alertsuccessName. Previous Chapter. Next Chapter. Loscalzo J Loscalzo, Joseph.

Hypoxia and Cyanosis. Dennis Kasper, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 19e. McGraw Hill; Accessed November 14, Hypoxia and cyanosis. McGraw Hill. When the cause of hypoxia is a condition affecting the respiratory membrane through which the diffusion of gases happens, administration of oxygen from outside will increase the partial pressure of oxygen inside the alveoli.

Consequently, the diffusion gradient also increases, expediting the movement of oxygen molecules into the blood. Therefore oxygen therapy is an effective mode of treatment in the management of hypoxia due to respiratory membrane pathologies. In case of hypoxia due to hematological abnormalities, there is nothing wrong with the mechanism by which the alveoli receive oxygen.

Therefore, oxygen therapy has no place in the management of hypoxia due to such reasons since it is not the oxygen supply that is impaired, but the carrier system which is responsible for the perfusion of oxygen from lungs to the peripheral tissues.

The bluish discoloration of the mucous membranes due to the excessive amounts of deoxygenated hemoglobin in capillary blood is known as cyanosis. Any concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin that is more than 5g per ml of arterial blood is adequate to give rise to this clinical sign.

An interesting fact is, anemic patients never become hypoxic because their hemoglobin concentration is way below the required deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration to result in cyanosis.

On the other hand, polycythemic patients have a higher tendency to develop cyanosis even under the normal conditions because of the excessive amount of hemoglobin in the blood. Depending on the location of the bluish discoloration, cyanosis has been divided into categories as.

The cause of central cyanosis is the shunting of venous blood into the systemic circulation as in the right-left cardiac shunts. Central cyanosis appears on the tongue. Peripheral cyanosis is seen in the hands and feet. It is caused by any condition that leads to stasis of the blood in the peripheries. Hypoxia and cyanosis can be regarded as two clinical features which arise due to the faulty circulation of blood to different regions of the body.

Hypoxia which is the limited availability of oxygen to the body tissues totally blunts the oxidative respiration. Cyanosis is due to the increase in the concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin in the blood. This is the difference between cyanosis and hypoxia. You can download PDF version of this article and use it for offline purposes as per citation note. Hall, John E, and Arthur C. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier, 2. Kumar, Parveen J, and Michael L.

Edinburgh: Saunders, Ranidu is passionate about writing articles on medical topics in general parlance. His experience in communicating with the general public during his medical practice has enabled him to describe facts that a layman has to know about a particular disorder in a concise and understandable manner.