Oxygen therapy

Oxygen therapy is the administration of supplemental oxygen to prevent or treat hypoxemia. It increases the oxygen available for transfer from the lungs into the blood.

Nasal cannula: A lightweight device that delivers oxygen through two short prongs placed in the nostrils. It is a common low-flow method for delivering supplemental oxygen.
Hypoxemia: An abnormally low level of oxygen in arterial blood. It is the principal physiological problem oxygen therapy is intended to correct.
Oxygen transport: The movement of oxygen from the environment through the lungs and blood to body tissues. Therapy acts on one stage of this larger delivery pathway.
Mechanical ventilation: Machine-assisted movement of gas into and out of the lungs through a mask or an artificial airway. It supports ventilation when oxygen supplementation alone cannot adequately move air.
Non-rebreather mask: A face mask with a reservoir bag and valves that limits rebreathing of exhaled air. It can provide high oxygen concentrations during urgent treatment.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A chronic lung disease involving persistent airflow limitation, usually caused by emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Some people with advanced disease benefit from long-term oxygen when blood oxygen is chronically low.
Oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve: A graph showing how hemoglobin oxygen saturation changes with oxygen partial pressure. It explains why changes in blood oxygen pressure do not always produce proportional changes in saturation.
Noninvasive ventilation: Breathing support delivered through a close-fitting mask rather than an inserted airway. It can assist ventilation and reduce carbon dioxide, goals that oxygen alone does not achieve.
High-flow nasal cannula: A system that delivers heated, humidified gas at high flow through nasal prongs, with adjustable oxygen concentration. It supports patients who need more flow and respiratory support than a standard cannula provides.
Long-term oxygen therapy: Supplemental oxygen prescribed for extended daily use in people with chronic hypoxemia. It is a sustained treatment option for selected patients with chronic lung disease.

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