A healthy adult human has a cardiac output of 5000 ml/min . Under normal physiological conditions, what is the approximate total volume of oxygen delivered to the body tissues per minute?

Step-by-step solution

From the concepts of gas exchange, every 100 ml of oxygenated blood delivers approximately 5 ml of O ₂ to the tissues under normal physiological conditions. Given the cardiac output is 5000 ml/min , the number of 100 ml units of blood pumped per minute is 5000 100 = 50 . Total oxygen delivered per minute = 50 5 ml = 250 ml/min . Using the 4 ml value for CO ₂ transport would incorrectly yield 200 ml/min , and using the total oxygen carrying capacity of 20 ml per 100 ml of blood would incorrectly yield 1000 ml/min .