What does oxygen enter the body into? Damage and death from oxygen deprivation

All food enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract, only oxygen, most of it, through the lungs. All food components can be measured, weighed and their volume determined. Oxygen, the creator and destroyer of metabolic processes, does not have such properties. Let's find out how good human health depends on the amount of oxygen consumed.

How to find out the volume of oxygen

Sweating is one of the signs of oxygen starvation.

The atmosphere contains 23.1% of this element by mass, 20.95% by volume, and 65% in the human body. It ensures cellular metabolic processes, accumulates and thereby affects viability, vital activity and life expectancy.

It is impossible to determine the amount of oxygen entering the blood during breathing and eating. However, a person can control its volume by the frequency of contractions of the heart muscles and blood pressure (BP) and, if necessary, increase it using therapeutic breathing and other methods.

Signs of lack of oxygen in the cells of blood vessels and the heart:

the time of its absorption decreases;
pulse rate and blood pressure increase, which leads to cardiovascular diseases;
cellular metabolic processes are disrupted, diseases of the bioreactor organs occur;
oxygen starvation of the body cells appears, they lose the ability to be healthy;
sweat is released.

Consequences of oxygen consumption

Muscle performance decreases with excessive consumption of oxygen reserves.

Nature has endowed the human body with the ability to accumulate the necessary element that ensures vitality, vital activity and longevity. If the muscle cells of any organ consume it excessively, they lose the ability to contract.

This can be checked. Not all people can do 200 squats. When a certain number is completed, pain will arise in the leg muscles, you will stop squatting.

The cells, receiving an insufficient amount of oxygen from the blood, have used up its supply and for this reason are not able to contract and fulfill the “order” of the brain - to continue squats.

At the same time, the muscles of the heart, arms, and other organs work and do not experience restrictions. They are not involved in squats, so their reserves are not used up and pain does not occur.

The heart muscles receive the largest amount of oxygen with blood from the lungs; they have enough of it to function, even with increased consumption of leg muscle cells.

How to restore oxygen volume

Medicine explains muscle pain by the accumulation of lactic acid in them - this is incorrect. Perform therapeutic breathing, manual therapy and therapeutic exercises. They will restore the volume of oxygen in the cells, metabolic processes, muscle performance, and the pain will disappear.

To prevent muscle atrophy during nervous and physical stress, nature puts a person into sleep. At this time, breathing becomes therapeutic, ensuring complete saturation of the blood with oxygen. Part of it enters muscle cells to replenish reserves.

However, if after sleep the pain remains, the person cannot squat or walk, it means that an insufficient amount of oxygen has reached the muscle cells. Use therapeutic breathing and gymnastics and see the results:

The supply of oxygen to the blood will increase and its supply will be restored.
The patency of blood vessels in tired muscles and their ability to perform work will improve.
Muscle pain will subside.

Oxygen is not only the creator of health, but also its protector.

Each person has a different supply. It is greater in young, healthy people than in sick and aging people.

Video: The effect of lack of oxygen on the body.

The effect of oxygen supply on sleep

If the oxygen reserves in the body meet or exceed its needs, then the person will not be able to fall asleep. He will remain awake until the reading drops below normal. This can be checked.

Before going to bed, perform therapeutic breathing, a complex of manual therapy and therapeutic exercises. Go to bed and try to sleep. Despite all your efforts, you will not fall asleep and will remain awake for several hours until the supply of oxygen in the body’s cells decreases.

In case of cardiac arrest (clinical death), a person is brought back to life thanks to oxygen reserves in the blood.

3-4 minutes after cardiac arrest, the cells of the internal muscles and the cavity of the left ventricle consume oxygen, and clinical death occurs.

It is almost impossible to bring people with a small reserve back to life during cardiac arrest.

When transplanting an organ from a donor to a victim, it is necessary to take into account the compatibility of the cells of the circulatory systems of the donor and the victim in terms of the time of oxygen absorption, as well as the presence of its supply in the transplant organ.

The discovery of oxygen happened twice, in the second half of the 18th century, several years apart. In 1771, oxygen was obtained by Swede Karl Scheele by heating saltpeter and sulfuric acid. The resulting gas was called "fire air". In 1774, the English chemist Joseph Priestley carried out the process of decomposing mercuric oxide in a completely closed vessel and discovered oxygen, but mistook it for an ingredient in air. Only after Priestley shared his discovery with the Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier did it become clear that a new element (calorizator) had been discovered. Priestley takes the lead in this discovery because Scheele published his scientific work describing the discovery only in 1777.

Oxygen is an element of group XVI of period II of the periodic table of chemical elements by D.I. Mendeleev, has atomic number 8 and atomic mass 15.9994. It is customary to denote oxygen by the symbol ABOUT(from Latin Oxygenium- generating acid). In Russian the name oxygen became a derivative of acids, a term that was introduced by M.V. Lomonosov.

Being in nature

Oxygen is the most common element found in the earth's crust and the World Ocean. Oxygen compounds (mainly silicates) make up at least 47% of the mass of the earth's crust; oxygen is produced during photosynthesis by forests and all green plants, most of which comes from phytoplankton in marine and fresh waters. Oxygen is an essential component of any living cells and is also found in most substances of organic origin.

Physical and chemical properties

Oxygen is a light non-metal, belongs to the group of chalcogens, and has high chemical activity. Oxygen, as a simple substance, is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas; it has a liquid state - light blue transparent liquid and a solid state - light blue crystals. Consists of two oxygen atoms (denoted by the formula O₂).

Oxygen is involved in redox reactions. Living things breathe oxygen from the air. Oxygen is widely used in medicine. In case of cardiovascular diseases, to improve metabolic processes, oxygen foam (“oxygen cocktail”) is injected into the stomach. Subcutaneous administration of oxygen is used for trophic ulcers, elephantiasis, and gangrene. Artificial ozone enrichment is used to disinfect and deodorize air and purify drinking water.

Oxygen is the basis of the life activity of all living organisms on Earth and is the main biogenic element. It is found in the molecules of all the most important substances that are responsible for the structure and functions of cells (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids). Every living organism contains much more oxygen than any element (up to 70%). For example, the body of an average adult human weighing 70 kg contains 43 kg of oxygen.

Oxygen enters living organisms (plants, animals and humans) through the respiratory system and the intake of water. Remembering that in the human body the most important respiratory organ is the skin, it becomes clear how much oxygen a person can receive, especially in the summer on the shore of a reservoir. Determining a person’s need for oxygen is quite difficult, because it depends on many factors - age, gender, body weight and surface area, nutrition system, external environment, etc.

Use of oxygen in life

Oxygen is used almost everywhere - from metallurgy to the production of rocket fuel and explosives used for road work in the mountains; from medicine to the food industry.

In the food industry, oxygen is registered as a food additive, as a propellant and packaging gas.

Hypoxia- oxygen starvation is a consequence of many pathological processes in the human body caused by external and internal causes. Medical ideas about this process are important for solving many problems of forensic medicine.

Oxygen metabolism in the human body and its possible disorders

Oxygen is used in the human body to carry out most of the redox reactions. With the help of these reactions, the energy necessary to support vital processes is produced. Thus, life is impossible without oxygen.

Oxygen enters the human body from the air; the average oxygen content in the air necessary for normal human breathing is 21%. When the mechanism of oxygen supply to the human body or the processes of its transportation and use in the tissues of the human body is disrupted, oxygen starvation develops - hypoxia.

Process The movement and use of oxygen in the human body proceeds as follows. Oxygen in the air enters the upper respiratory tract through the openings of the nose and mouth, passes through the larynx, trachea, bronchi, from large to small, and enters the alveoli of the lungs. Alveoli are tiny thin-walled vesicles covered with a dense network of capillaries - blood vessels of the smallest diameter. Here, through the wall of the alveoli, an exchange occurs between the air mass entering the lungs and the blood. Oxygen passes from the air into the blood, and carbon dioxide enters the lumen of the alveoli from the blood. Oxygen in the blood combines with hemoglobin in red blood cells - erythrocytes. Oxygen is then carried through the bloodstream throughout the body, reaching capillaries in organs and tissues. There there is an exchange between blood and tissue fluid. Oxygen passes from the blood into the tissue fluid, and from there carbon dioxide passes into the blood.

The cells of the central nervous system are the most sensitive to oxygen deficiency; they are the first to sense a disturbance in oxygen metabolism. As a consequence of this, the central nervous system directs the actions of all organs and systems to correct the situation. For example, it increases blood pressure in the circulatory system and accelerates the heartbeat, thereby trying to increase the oxygen saturation of the blood and, accordingly, increase its delivery to organs and tissues.

Hypoxia can be a consequence of a variety of negative processes in the human body: diseases, injuries, congenital pathologies. Scientists from various fields of medicine study hypoxia: therapists, anesthesiologists, pathophysiologists, etc. Among them are forensic doctors who, using achievements in other fields of medicine, solve the problem of assessing the nature of injuries and death from hypoxia.

There are several types of hypoxia (according to V.N. Kryukov et al.).

1. Exogenous hypoxia(external) develops due to a decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the inhaled air. In practical law enforcement activities, hypoxia of this type occurs in the form of: oxygen deficiency, which occurs at high altitudes above sea level; oxygen deficiency in confined spaces without access to air and some others.
2. Respiratory hypoxia(respiratory) is a consequence of mechanical obstacles to air entering the human lungs. This type of hypoxia occurs in the form of: closure of the respiratory tract at one level or another by foreign objects or liquids, for example, during drowning in water, during aspiration of vomit, when closing the openings of the mouth and nose; narrowing or complete blockage of the airways due to diseases, such as diphtheria.
3. Circulatory hypoxia- a consequence of disruption of blood movement along the bloodstream. Among hypoxias of this type, hypoxia of individual parts of the body or parts of organs is more common. For example, hypoxia of the brain due to compression of the vessels of the neck, hypoxia of a section of an internal organ, called a heart attack. There can be heart attacks of different organs, but the most famous are heart attacks, as they often lead to death.
4. Geminal hypoxia(blood) - as a consequence of a decrease in the oxygen capacity of the blood. A decrease in the blood's ability to carry oxygen can be caused by various reasons. The most common in law enforcement practice: massive blood loss due to mechanical damage to human organs and tissues; sustained blockade of blood hemoglobin due to the entry of large amounts of carbon monoxide into the body (formation of carboxyhemoglobin); when hemoglobin is blocked by certain chemicals (for example, nitro compounds) by irreversibly converting hemoglobin into methemoglobin.
5. Tissue hypoxia - a consequence of disruption of the processes of oxygen use directly in the tissues and cells of the human body. The best known manifestation of cellular oxygen deficiency is when exposed to cyanide poisons.
6. Mixed hypoxia observed with the simultaneous development of several mechanisms of hypoxia. For example, during a fire in smoky rooms, hypoxia from a lack of oxygen in the air (exogenous) and hypoxia due to the formation of carboxyhemoglobin (hemic) simultaneously operate.

The development of hypoxia can occur quickly - such hypoxia is called acute; it develops within a few minutes (for example, during aspiration of a foreign body). If the development period lasts for several hours, then hypoxia is called subacute (for example, hypoxia when a person is in a confined space without access to air from the environment). Chronic hypoxia is one that develops over a long period of time, several months or more (for example, hypoxia in chronic anemia).

In forensic medicine, different types of hypoxia are considered in different sections. For example, hemic hypoxia from the action of carbon monoxide is in the section of poisoning, and respiratory hypoxia, which occurs when the airways are closed by a foreign body, is in the section of mechanical asphyxia.

In the practice of law enforcement agencies, hypoxia that develops from mechanical effects on the respiratory tract is usually called mechanical asphyxia, these include: strangulation asphyxia from compression of the neck with a noose during hanging, during strangulation with a noose and strangulation with hands; compression asphyxia due to compression of the chest and abdomen; aspiration asphyxia from the entry of various solid and liquid substances into the respiratory tract. The term “aspiration” comes from Lat. cispiracio - inhalation, sometimes this type of asphyxia is designated as obstructive, from lat. obturacio - clogging. In some forensic medical works, asphyxia that occurs as a result of liquid and semi-liquid substances entering the respiratory tract is classified as aspiration, and asphyxia due to blockage of the respiratory tract by pieces of solid substances is classified as obstructive.

Mechanical asphyxia with complete closure of the respiratory tract quickly, within 6-7 minutes, leads to death due to the death of the cerebral cortex. In people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, death may occur earlier due to reflex cardiac arrest.

In the practice of internal affairs bodies, asphyxia can occur in the form of suicides, accidents and murders. The possibilities of forensic medicine in differentiating mechanical asphyxia by type of death will be discussed in relation to certain types of asphyxia in the following paragraphs.

Forensic medicine: a textbook for honey. universities / V. II. Kryukov [and others]. M.: Medicine, 1990.

POSSIBILITIES OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN STUDYING THE CONSEQUENCES OF VARIOUS EXTERNAL FACTORS ON HUMANS

This part of the textbook highlights the capabilities of forensic medicine to detect and assess the consequences of various external damaging factors on the human body. The factual data presented here is used both in the examination of corpses and in the examination of living persons.

Section 1

INJURY AND DEATH FROM OXYGEN STARVATION

Hypoxia - oxygen starvation, is a consequence of many pathological processes in the human body caused by external and internal causes. Medical ideas about this process are important for solving many problems of forensic medicine.

Chapter 6. Oxygen metabolism in the human body and its possible disorders

The process of moving and using oxygen in the human body proceeds as follows. Oxygen in the air enters the upper respiratory tract through the openings of the nose and mouth, passes through the larynx, trachea, bronchi, from large to small, and enters the alveoli of the lungs. Alveoli are tiny thin-walled vesicles covered with a dense network of capillaries - blood vessels of the smallest diameter. Here, through the wall of the alveoli, an exchange occurs between the air mass entering the lungs and the blood. Oxygen passes from the air into the blood, and carbon dioxide enters the lumen of the alveoli from the blood. Oxygen in the blood combines with hemoglobin in red blood cells - erythrocytes. Oxygen is then carried through the bloodstream throughout the body, reaching capillaries in organs and tissues. There there is an exchange between blood and tissue fluid. Oxygen passes from the blood into the tissue fluid, and from there carbon dioxide passes into the blood. Oxygen in the cells of organs and tissues is used for oxidation processes. Violation of the processes of oxygen transfer or transmission at any stage causes hypoxia.

There are several types of hypoxia (according to V.N. Kryukov et al.):

1) Exogenous hypoxia (external) - develops as a result of a decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the inhaled air. In practical law enforcement activities, hypoxia of this type occurs in the form of: oxygen deficiency, which occurs at high altitudes above sea level; oxygen deficiency in confined spaces without air access; and some others.

2) Respiratory hypoxia (breathing) - is a consequence of mechanical obstacles to air entering the human lungs.

This type of hypoxia occurs in the form of: closure of the respiratory tract at one level or another by foreign objects or liquids, for example, during drowning in water, during aspiration of vomit, when closing the openings of the mouth and nose; narrowing or complete blockage of the airways due to diseases, such as diphtheria.

3) Circulatory hypoxia is a consequence of impaired blood movement along the bloodstream. Among hypoxias of this type, hypoxia of individual parts of the body or parts of organs is more common. For example, hypoxia of the brain, due to compression of the vessels of the neck, hypoxia of a section of an internal organ, called a heart attack, there can be infarctions of different organs, but the most famous are heart attacks, since they often lead to death.

4) Hemic hypoxia (blood) - as a consequence of a decrease in the oxygen capacity of the blood. A decrease in the blood's ability to carry oxygen can be caused by various reasons. The most common in law enforcement practice: massive blood loss due to mechanical damage to human organs and tissues; sustained blockade of blood hemoglobin due to the entry of large amounts of carbon monoxide into the body (formation of carboxyhemoglobin); when hemoglobin is blocked by certain chemicals (for example, nitro compounds) by irreversibly converting hemoglobin into methemoglobin.

5) Tissue hypoxia is a consequence of disruption of the processes of oxygen use directly in the tissues and cells of the human body. The best known manifestation of cellular oxygen deficiency is when exposed to cyanide poisons.

6) Mixed hypoxia - observed with the simultaneous development of several hypoxia mechanisms. For example, during a fire in smoky rooms, hypoxia from a lack of oxygen in the air (exogenous) and hypoxia due to the formation of carboxyhemoglobin (hemic) simultaneously operate.

The development of hypoxia can occur quickly - such hypoxia is called acute; it develops within a few minutes (for example, during aspiration of a foreign body). If the development period lasts for several hours, then hypoxia is called subacute (for example, hypoxia when a person is in a confined space without access to air from the environment). Chronic hypoxia is one that develops over a long period of time - months or more (for example, hypoxia in chronic anemia).

In forensic medicine, different types of hypoxia are considered in different sections. For example, hemic hypoxia from the action of carbon monoxide is in the section on poisoning, and respiratory hypoxia, which occurs when the airways are closed by a foreign body, is in the section on mechanical asphyxia.

In the practice of law enforcement agencies, hypoxia that develops from mechanical effects on the respiratory tract is usually called mechanical asphyxia, these include: strangulation asphyxia from compression of the neck with a noose during hanging, during strangulation with a noose and strangulation with hands; compression asphyxia due to compression of the chest and abdomen; aspiration asphyxia from the entry of various solid and liquid substances into the respiratory tract. The term aspiration comes from the Latin aspiracio - inhalation, sometimes this type of asphyxia is referred to as obstructive, from the Latin obturacio - clogging. In some forensic medical works, asphyxia that occurs as a result of liquid and semi-liquid substances entering the respiratory tract is classified as aspiration, and asphyxia due to blockage of the respiratory tract by pieces of solid substances is classified as obstructive.

In the practice of internal affairs bodies, asphyxia can occur in the form of suicides, accidents and murders. The possibilities of forensic medicine in differentiating mechanical asphyxia by type of death will be considered in relation to certain types of asphyxia in the following chapters.