Regional delivery of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the microcirculation

A partial pressure dependent metabolic mechanism was incorporated into our previous multicompartmental model for O/sub 2/-CO/sub 2/ coupled transport in the cat cerebral microcirculation-tissue system. The refined model predicts the distribution of O/sub 2/ and CO/sub 2/ concentrations and regional flux along the microcirculation under various hemodynamic and metabolic conditions. Our simulation indicates that capillaries are the main site for O/sub 2/ as well as CO/sub 2/ exchange in the microcirculation. This is in contrast with results from the Roth and Wade model suggesting precapillary preponderance of CO/sub 2/ exchange.