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Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen(SpO2)
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 and into the blood. As a result of this oxygenation, the color of the blood changes from dark purple to red. Oxygen saturation stats, or O2 sats measure the percentage of hemoglobin binding sites in the bloodstream occupied by oxygen.
That indirectly monitors the oxygen saturation of a patient’s blood (as opposed to measuring oxygen saturation directly through a blood sample) and changes in blood volume in the skin, producing a photoplethysmograph. It is often attached to a medical monitor so staff can see a patient’s oxygenation at all times. |
