Arterial and mixed venous blood gas status during apnoea of intubation--proof of the Christiansen-Douglas-Haldane effect in vivo.

The Christiansen-Douglas-Haldane effect, in short the Haldane effect, describes the dependence of the CO2 binding of blood on the degree of oxygenation of haemoglobin. Under the physiological conditions of an ‘open’ system between blood and alveoli the partial pressure of arterial C02 (PaCO2), must be less than that of mixed venous blood (P[Formula: see text]CO2). During the unphysiological conditions of a ‘closed’ system, e.g. hyperoxic apnoea, i.e. continuous oxygen uptake without CO2 delivery by the lungs, the Paco2 will not only approximate the P[Formula: see text]CO2 but will even exceed it. Without the Haldane effect, rapid adjustment of Paco2 to P[Formula: see text]CO2 would be expe…