Role of the Central Circulation in Regulation of Cutaneous Gas Exchange

SYNOPSIS. Although primarily limited by the rate of diffusionof oxygen and carbon dioxide across the integument, cutaneousgas exchange is also affected by adjustments in the absoluteflow of blood to the skin, the pattern of distribution of bloodwithin the cutaneous vascular bed, and the effects of centralvascular shunting on gas partial pressures of arterial bloodperfusing the skin. The interplay of these various factors,particularly in animals with heterogeneous arterial supply tothe skin and/or with highly variable intracardiac shunts, potentiallyis complex, only poorly understood, and worthy of considerablefuture experimentation.