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Ventilation-Perfusion (V/Q Ratio) | Quick Medical Overview
What is the Ventilation-Perfusion (V/Q Ratio)? This video covers the medical definition and provides a brief overview of this topic.
💥Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio [Full Guide] ➜ ➜ ➜ https://bit.ly/2VxdPcP
➡️ What is Ventilation?
Ventilation (V) refers to the amount of air that enters and leaves the alveoli. For the body to be able to obtain oxygen, there first must be sufficient amounts of air that reaches the alveolar region of the lungs.
➡️ What is Perfusion?
Perfusion (Q) refers to the amount of blood that flows to the alveolar capillaries. For the body to be able to obtain oxygen, there also must be sufficient amounts of blood passing through the lungs to pick up oxygen molecules so that it can be transported to all of the organs and tissues of the body.
➡️ What is the Ventilation/Perfusion Ratio?
Ventilation is abbreviated as V. Perfusion is abbreviated as Q. The V/Q ratio refers to the amount of air that reaches the alveoli per minute compared to the amount of blood that reaches the alveoli per minute. Ideally, the amount of oxygen and blood reaching the alveoli would be a perfect match. This would result in a V/Q ratio of 1.0. However, of course, this isn’t always the case — especially for patients with cardiopulmonary conditions.
➡️ What is a Ventilation/Perfusion Imbalance?
A V/Q imbalance simply means that the amount of ventilation in the alveoli does not match the amount of perfusion. There could either be a high or a low V/Q ratio.
➡️ High V/Q Ratio
A patient would have a high V/Q ratio if there is more ventilation or less perfusion. For example, this could occur when there is decreased blood flowing through the lungs but normal ventilation. Just to give an example, this would be seen in a patient with a pulmonary embolism. An area with ventilation but no perfusion is known as deadspace.
➡️ Low V/Q Ratio
A patient would have a low V/Q ratio if there is less ventilation or more perfusion. For example, this could occur during atelectasis because perfusion would be normal, but there would be decreased ventilation. An area with perfusion but no ventilation is referred to as a shunt.
➡️ V/Q Imbalance Overview
You should know that a V/Q imbalance is typically the most common cause of hypoxemia in patients with respiratory diseases. That is because any respiratory condition that causes decreased ventilation would result in a V/Q mismatch and, eventually, lead to low oxygen levels in the blood. Like I said before, this topic can get pretty complex. We made this video to try to simplify things and give you a quick overview of this topic. We'll be breaking it down into much more detail in a future video.
💥Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio [Full Guide] ➜ ➜ ➜ https://bit.ly/2VxdPcP
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🚑MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with a physician with any questions that you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you watch in this video. We strive for 100% accuracy, but errors may occur, and medications, protocols, and treatment methods may change over time.
💡AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER
This description contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a product through one of them, we receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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⏰TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - What is Ventilation?
0:55 - What is Perfusion?
1:17 - What is the Ventilation/Perfusion Ratio?
1:54 - What is a Ventilation/Perfusion Imbalance?
2:11 - High V/Q Ratio
2:38 - Low V/Q Ratio
3:04 - V/Q Imbalance Overview
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