A Further Extension of the In Vivo Oxygen-Dissociation Curve for the Blood of the Newborn Infant*

Abstract

Blood oxygen saturation and tension in the physiological range was measured in 13 newborn infants. The observed data were corrected to pH 7.4 and fitted to Hill''s equation to describe the oxygen-dissociation curve at greater than 80% oxygen saturation. All available data from the literature were then pooled to derive constants for Gomez'' equation. The observed and calculated curves fitted closely and allowed description of the complete curve for fetal-neonatal blood from 0-100% oxygen saturation. The fetal neonatal oxygen-dissociation curve at pH 7.4 coincides nearly exactly with that for adult blood at pH 7.6.