Arterial blood gas test

A test of arterial blood that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acidity, helping assess gas exchange and acid–base balance.

Arterial blood: Blood carried from the heart through arteries to the body's tissues. The sample comes from this oxygen-rich circulation rather than from a vein.
Radial artery: An artery in the wrist that supplies blood to the hand. It is a common, accessible site for obtaining an arterial sample.
Respiratory failure: A condition in which the respiratory system cannot adequately oxygenate blood or remove carbon dioxide. Arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide values help identify and monitor its type.
Venous blood gas: A measurement of acidity and carbon dioxide in blood collected from a vein. It can help assess pH and carbon dioxide but generally cannot replace arterial oxygen measurement.
Blood pH: A measure of hydrogen-ion activity in blood, indicating how acidic or alkaline it is. The test reports pH to reveal acid–base status.
Allen test: A bedside test of collateral blood flow to the hand through the ulnar artery. It can assess hand circulation before radial artery puncture.
Mechanical ventilation: Use of a machine to support or replace spontaneous breathing. Repeated blood gases can guide ventilator adjustments and check their effects.
Capillary blood gas: A blood-gas measurement using blood collected from a small skin puncture. It avoids arterial puncture in some settings, but oxygen values may be less reliable.
Partial pressure of oxygen: The pressure exerted by oxygen dissolved in a gas or liquid. Arterial oxygen pressure estimates how effectively oxygen entered the blood.
Arterial puncture: Insertion of a needle into an artery to collect blood or measure pressure. This is the collection procedure used for a conventional arterial blood gas sample.

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