What happens after hypoxemia occurs in the oxygenation depletion cascade?

When hypoxemia occurs, meaning there is a deficiency of oxygen in the blood, the body initiates a sequence of metabolic responses to adapt to the decreased availability of oxygen. Transitioning to anaerobic metabolism is a critical response in this context.

In conditions of hypoxemia, cells have insufficient oxygen to carry out aerobic respiration, which is the optimal pathway for generating energy efficiently. As a result, cells switch to anaerobic metabolism, a less efficient energy generation process. In this pathway, glucose is metabolized into lactic acid, producing significantly less ATP compared to aerobic metabolism. This switch allows for some level of energy production to continue, although it is accompanied by the buildup of lactic acid, which can lead to acidosis if not resolved.

This switch to anaerobic metabolism becomes particularly important during prolonged hypoxia, allowing cells to sustain themselves temporarily while the body attempts to correct the oxygen deficit. The other options do not accurately describe the physiological response following hypoxemia; enhanced oxygen transport to tissues would not occur during such a deficit, and neither would normal metabolism resume without addressing the lack of oxygen. Similarly, increased blood pressure in the arteries is not a direct response to hypoxemia but might occur due to other physiological changes. The critical