Figure 3.

Schematic overview of the determinants of arterial PaO₂. This is influenced by the degree of shunted deoxygenated blood from native lung, the ratio of ECBF to intrinsic cardiac output and amount of recirculation. Essentially, venous blood is divided into blood that is pumped through the ECMO membrane (ECBF) and an amount (Cardiac output minus ECBF) that bypasses the ECMO and mixes in the right atrium. Part of the ECBF (Qr) ‘recirculates’ back into the ECMO, decreasing the effective ECBF. Therefore, the effective ECBF (ECBFeff) is the difference between the ECBF and Qr. The oxygen content in the different compartments is illustrated.