Anoxia

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Anoxia (from the Greek an- = “not” and oxys = “sour”) biologically describes the complete absence of oxygen . One area where anoxia prevails is called anoxic .

Anoxia in Medicine and Physiology

In medicine, anoxia is a term for the lack of oxygen in the entire organism or parts of it.

Anoxia can occur at low oxygen concentrations, at which oxygen can no longer be absorbed through the lungs or gills . Due to the metabolism , which in most organisms mainly consists of oxidative processes, malfunctions occur in the absence of the necessary oxygen. In vertebrates in particular , there is an undersupply of the brain and heart , with the latter leading to structural changes in the myocardium . Anoxia is also a term for the lack of oxygen, which can be the basis of a suffocation .

Anoxia in ecology

The lack of oxygen is the normal condition, especially in various bacteria , but also in a number of invertebrates. In these organisms, the metabolic processes are anaerobic , i.e. in the absence of oxygen.

Individual evidence

  1. Willibald Pschyrembel (founder), Christoph Zink (editor): Clinical dictionary with clinical syndromes and nouns Anatomica. 255th edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1986. ISBN 3-11-007916-X , p. 84.
  2. ^ Keyword “anoxic” in: Herder-Lexikon der Biologie. Spectrum Akademischer Verlag GmbH, Heidelberg 2003. ISBN 3-8274-0354-5 .
  3. Wolfgang Schwerd: Asphyxiation (lack of oxygen). In: Wolfgang Schwerd (Hrsg.): Brief textbook of forensic medicine for doctors and lawyers. Deutscher Ärzte-Verlag, Cologne-Lövenich, 3rd, revised and supplemented edition 1979, ISBN 3-7691-0050-6 , 71–84, here: pp. 71–73.
  4. ^ Keyword “anoxic” in: Herder-Lexikon der Biologie. Spectrum Akademischer Verlag GmbH, Heidelberg 2003. ISBN 3-8274-0354-5 .