Figure 1.

Oxygen saturation of red blood cells at the venous end of normally perfused capillaries versus the percentage of capillaries with stopped-flow (%CDstop) in extensor digitorum longus muscle in rat. No relationships existed in the sham animals between these parameters. In animals that underwent a 24-hour peritonitis model of sepsis (cecal ligation and perforation [CLP]), there was a decrease in oxygen saturation with increasing %CDstop (linear regression: y = 98.8 - 1.8x; r² = 0.64; P < 0.05). Reproduced with permission [47].