What is "hypoxemia"

alt. (context medicine English) An abnormal deficiency in the concentration of oxygen in the blood, be it the partial pressure of oxygen (mm Hg), the content of oxygen (ml oxygen per dl of blood) or the per cent saturation of the blood's hemoglobin, singly or in combination. n. (context medicine English) An abnormal deficiency in the concentration of oxygen in the blood, be it the partial pressure of oxygen (mm Hg), the content of oxygen (ml oxygen per dl of blood) or the per cent saturation of the blood's hemoglobin, singly or in combination.

Hypoxemia (or hypoxaemia in British English) is an abnormally low level of oxygen in the blood. More specifically, it is oxygen deficiency in arterial blood. Hypoxemia has many causes, often respiratory disorders, and can cause tissue hypoxia as the blood is not supplying enough oxygen to the body.