Interaction of O₂ diffusion and O₂ metabolism in cat urinary bladder tissue

The authors measured oxygen exchange across the inside surface of excised urinary bladders that were inflated with gas mixtures. By using a range of PO₂ differences between the 2 sides of the tissue and relatively simple mathematical models, the authors could infer the exchanges across the outside surface and the total O₂ economy of the tissue so that one could evaluate the interaction between the diffusion and metabolic O₂ consumption. The estimate of the Krogh diffusion constant or permeation coefficient with this preparation avoids errors due to O₂ consumption and unstirred layers. At 37°C, the value of bladder tissue O₂ consumption was 4.4 x 10^-3 min^-1 and the value of the Krogh constant for O₂ was 2.22 x 10^-5 cm²min^-1atm^-1.