Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Oxygen saturation
Summary
Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It can be measured with a dissolved oxygen probe such as an oxygen sensor or an optode in liquid media, usually water. The standard unit of oxygen saturation is percent (%).
Oxygen saturation can be measured regionally and noninvasively. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) is commonly measured using pulse oximetry. Tissue saturation at peripheral scale can be measured using NIRS. This technique can be applied on both muscle and brain.
Oxygen saturation (medicine)
In medicine, oxygen saturation refers to oxygenation, or when oxygen molecules (O2) enter the tissues of the body. In this case blood is oxygenated in the lungs, where oxygen molecules travel from the air into the blood. Oxygen saturation ((O2) sats) measures the percentage of hemoglobin binding sites in the bloodstream occupied by oxygen. Fish, invertebrates, plants, and aerobic bacteria all require oxygen.
Oxygenation (environmental)
In aquatic environments, oxygen saturation is a ratio of the concentration of "dissolved oxygen" (DO, O2), to the maximum amount of oxygen that will dissolve in that water body, at the temperature and pressure which constitute stable equilibrium conditions. Well-aerated water (such as a fast-moving stream) without oxygen producers or consumers is 100% saturated.
It is possible for stagnant water to become somewhat supersaturated with oxygen (i.e. reach more than 100% saturation) either because of the presence of photosynthetic aquatic oxygen producers or because of a slow equilibration after a change of atmospheric conditions. Stagnant water in the presence of decaying matter will typically have an oxygen concentration much less than 100%, which is due to anaerobic bacteria being much less efficient at breaking down organic material. Similarly as in water, oxygen concentration also plays a key role in the breakdown of organic matter in soils.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (2)
BIO-377: Physiology by systems
Le but est de connaitre et comprendre le fonctionnement des systèmes cardiovasculaire, urinaire, respiratoire, digestif, ainsi que du métabolisme de base et sa régulation afin de déveloper une réflect
CH-210: Biochemistry
Les constituants biochimiques de l'organisme, protéines, glucides, lipides, à la lumière de l'évolution des concepts et des progrès en biologie moléculaire et génétique, sont étudiés.