Figure 2
From: Clinical manifestations of disordered microcirculatory perfusion in severe sepsis
The Krogh conceptual model of oxygen diffusion from the capillaries. (a) The area of tissue that is supplied by an individual capillary is represented by a cylinder. The diffusion distance for oxygen in the tissues is shown (d). (b) If perfused capillaries drop out because of the microcirculatory alterations of severe sepsis, and the perfused vessel density decreases, the diffusion distance for oxygen increases (d2). This illustrates how perfused vessel density plays a critical role in oxygen transport.