i was watching the omen this afternoon and there was a point when the nanny, (mRs Bayfield) went in to the hospital to first her poorly madam and she had a needle filled with air and jected it in to her drip. this meant the air bubble went in to her blood stream. i know that this is dangerous but why is it fatal. if you inject someone into the vien with air why does it cause them to die????
2007-10-04 11:04:27 · 1 answers · asked by ? 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
Injecting an air into the drip that goes into the vein can cause the situation called "air embolism". It is fatal because the air bubbles can cause a blockage in a vein or artery which disrupts the blood circulation in a certain area resulting to oxygen deprivation that will cause death of a tissue in a certain body part or organ.
The air bubbles that entered the veins may lodge into the lungs causing symptoms rarely. However if the air bubbles are lodged into the heart and cause an abruption of circulation from right ventricle into the lungs, death may occur but that would require a large amount of air. Abruption of blood circulation in any part of the heart can result to oxygen deprivation leading to death of heart tissues (or infarction). A heart attack will follow that can possibly cause death.
Supposing the air goes into the arteries and cause the stoppage of the blood flow into the organs fed by the arteries, a serious problem may result. Example, if air lodges into the brain, a stroke will happen after the interruption of the blood supply caused by an emboli.
However, the fatal effects would depend on the amount of the air. It is said that 70 to 150 mL/sec of air can be fatal. It is also variable as even a small amount of air in the circulation can be dangerous sometimes depending on the person's position and general condition.
2007-10-04 11:56:20 · answer #1 · answered by ♥ lani s 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋