Why does a patient with severe carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning often fail to show an increase in ventilation despite critically low oxygen delivery to tissues?
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Correct answer: Arterial PO2 remains normal, so peripheral chemoreceptors are not stimulated
Peripheral chemoreceptors respond to the partial pressure of dissolved oxygen (PO2), not the total oxygen content or hemoglobin saturation. In CO poisoning, PO2 remains normal while oxygen content is low, so the 'hypoxic drive' is never triggered.
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