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the oxygenation level in the arterial blood. There are many pieces of
information measured in an ABG. We will discuss some of the information
now, and add further details later.
The normal pH of the blood is 7.40 and the normal range is 7.35 to 7.45
The normal pCO2 is 40
The normal HCO3- is 24
When you do calculations in upcoming lessons, use the values above for your
normal values. Some sources will state a range of normal (such as 22-26 for
bicarb), but it is harder to use a range of values in an equation when you need
a single value. For example, if the bicarb is 19, you will calculate that the
bicarb dropped 5 points, based on a normal value of 24.
Here is where it gets a little bit confusing. Acidosis and alkalosis refer to a
process. Usually, an ongoing process will create the same condition in the
blood. For example, an acidosis process will cause acidemia. However, you
could have 2 opposing processes occuring at the same time which balance
each other out. For example, you could have acidosis and alkalosis both
together and the pH of the blood is normal. In this case, there would be an
acidosis and an alkalosis present, but no acidemia and no alkalemia.
Yes, we are splitting hairs here and this might seem like an annoying detail,
but wait until you start practicing and you look at a normal pH of 7.40 and
realize that there is lots going on behind the scenes. We will train you how to
do this.