Appendix

1. Avogadro's hypothesis Equal volumes of different gases at equal temperatures contain the same number of molecules. Similarly, equal numbers of molecules in identical volumes and at the same temperature will exert the same pressure. (One mole of any gas will contain 6.02 × 1023 molecules and will occupy a volume of 22.4 L at a temperature of 0°C and a pressure of 760 mm Hg.)

2. Dalton's law In a gas mixture the pressure exerted by each individual gas in a space is independent of the pressures of other gases in the mixture, for example,

3. Boyle's law

P1V1 = P2V2 (at constant temperature)

4. Charles' law or Gay Lussac's law

5. Ideal gas law

PV = nRT

6. Henry's law The weight of a gas absorbed by a liquid with which it does not combine chemically is directly proportional to the pressure of the gas to which the liquid is exposed (and its solubility in the liquid).

7. Graham's law The rate of diffusion of a gas (in the gas phase) is inversely proportional to the square root of its molecular weight.

8. Fick's law of diffusion

1. The alveolar air equation:

2. The Bohr equation:

3. Components of alveolar pressure:

4. The diffusing capacity equation:

5. The Fick equation:

6. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation:

7. Oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin:

1.34 mL O2/g Hb

8. The shunt equation:

9. Solubility of oxygen in plasma:

0.003 mL O2/100 mL blood/mm Hg