Question

You cannot affect the oxygen delivery to your tissues by drinking "oxygenated water." However, breathing oxygen at hyperbaric pressures does increase oxygen delivery to the tissues. Explain why these two statements are true.

Short answer

Drinking oxygenated water does not significantly increase oxygen delivery to tissues because the amount of dissolved oxygen in water is low, and absorption through the digestive system is inefficient. In contrast, hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases dissolved oxygen concentration in the blood plasma due to higher partial pressure of oxygen, enabling more efficient oxygen transport and delivery to tissues. Additionally, hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve hemoglobin function, further increasing oxygen delivery to tissues.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding oxygen transportation in the body

Oxygen is mainly transported in the body through the blood, specifically by binding to hemoglobin molecules within red blood cells. These red blood cells pick up oxygen in the lungs and transport it to tissues throughout the body, where it is released for cellular respiration.

Oxygenated water and its effect on oxygen delivery

Drinking oxygenated water involves consuming water with a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen than is typically found in regular water. However, the amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in water is quite low compared to the amount of oxygen we can obtain from the air we breathe. Moreover, the oxygen from the water would first have to pass through the stomach and into the bloodstream, which is an inefficient process for oxygen delivery. Thus, drinking oxygenated water does not significantly contribute to increased oxygen delivery to our tissues.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its effect on oxygen delivery

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing oxygen at higher-than-normal atmospheric pressures. This results in a higher partial pressure of oxygen in the air, which leads to an increased dissolved oxygen concentration in the blood plasma. Under these conditions, more oxygen can be transported throughout the body and delivered to tissues in need. In addition, the increased oxygen availability may help to improve the function of hemoglobin, allowing it to offload oxygen more efficiently to the tissues. This is a particularly important consideration in situations where hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying capacity may be compromised, such as during carbon monoxide poisoning.

Comparing the two methods of oxygen delivery

In essence, drinking oxygenated water doesn't provide a significant increase in oxygen delivery to our tissues because it relies on an inefficient process of oxygen absorption through the digestive system. On the other hand, breathing oxygen at hyperbaric pressures directly increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood plasma, allowing for more efficient oxygen transport and delivery to tissues throughout the body.