alleryStart learning →Hyperventilation produces respiratory alkalosis by causing which change in the blood?
AAn excess of carbon dioxide
BAn excess of bicarbonate ion
CA deficiency of bicarbonate ion
DA deficiency of carbon dioxide
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. A deficiency of carbon dioxide
1. Hyperventilation is breathing that is deeper or more frequent than normal.
2. It drives too much carbon dioxide out of the lungs.
3. Less carbon dioxide means less carbonic acid, so the blood turns alkaline.
4. That is why the disorder is named a primary carbonic acid and carbon dioxide deficiency.
5. An excess of carbon dioxide would produce the opposite state, respiratory acidosis.
_Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (CC BY 4.0), Ch 26 "Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance", section Respiratory Alkalosis: Primary Carbonic Acid/CO2 Deficiency_
Keep practising Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance
Browse all Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance questions for DHA Nursing Licensing Exam, or explore more Anatomy & Physiology topics.
Related questions
Tap the bigger quantityBuild the thirst responseAcidosis or alkalosis?Name the imbalanceSend each ion to its compartmentWhich laboratory pattern fits metabolic alkalosis once compensation is under way?Protein buffering accounts for what share of the buffering power of the blood?Excess potassium in the extracellular fluid has which effect on excitable membranes?