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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy & Molecules in the Body

Oxygen in the body normally works near atmospheric pressure at sea level. Raising that pressure by a factor of two or three can generate dramatic effects manifest at a molecular level.

  1. Definition

    • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the administration of oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure, according to the book "Medical-Surgical Nursing, Fifth Edition," by Joyce Black et al.

    Hemoglobin

    • Hyperbaric oxygen increases the partial pressure of O2 (PaO2) in the blood. This in turn increases the combination of O2 with the hemoglobin molecule, notes the book "Human Physiology, Eighth Edition," by Arthur Vander et al.

    Plasma O2

    • Hyperbaric oxygen also increases the amount of O2 dissolved in the plasma portion of the blood, notes emedicine.com.

    Free Radicals

    • A free radical is a molecule containing an odd number of electrons, according to "Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary." Hyperbaric oxygen increases the number of free radicals, states emedicine.com.

    Peroxidase

    • Protecting against infection, hyperbaric oxygen promotes the activity of certain white blood cells, according to Black et al. It does this by helping a molecule (the enzyme peroxidase) transfer O2 to oxygen-hungry tissues, notes emedicine.com.

    CO

    • Reversing carbon-monoxide poisoning, hyperbaric oxygen increases the rate at which O2 displaces CO from hemoglobin, observes emedicine.com.

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