Arterial blood gases of the domestic hen

¹ Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Individual blood samples were collected anaerobically from the brachial arteries of adult White Rock hens and were analyzed for Po₂, Pco₂, pH, oxygen content and capacity, and CO₂ content and capacity. A dissociation curve was constructed from data on equilibration of pooled venous blood. The average arterial oxygen saturation was 90%, the Pco₂ was about 32 mm Hg, the Po₂ was between 94 and 99 mm Hg, and the pH averaged 7.49. The dissociation curve, as has been shown before, was shifted to the right of most homeothermic species.

Key Words: blood gases of chicken • dissociation curve of chicken blood • arterial oxygen saturation of hens • acid-base equilibria • analysis of fowl blood

Submitted on January 23, 1964