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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Assessment of Pulmonary Capillary Blood Volume, Membrane Diffusing Capacity, and Intrapulmonary Arteriovenous Anastomoses During Exercise
Published on: February 20, 2017
CO2 clearance by membrane lungs
Liqun Sun1,2, Andreas Kaesler3, Piyumindri Fernando1
11 Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Introduction:
Commercial membrane lungs are designed to transfer a specific amount of oxygen per unit of venous blood flow. Membrane lungs are much more efficient at removing CO2 than adding oxygen, but the range of CO2 transfer is rarely reported.
Methods:
Commercial membrane lungs were studied with the goal of evaluating CO2 removal capacity. CO2 removal was measured in 4 commercial membrane lungs under standardized conditions.
Conclusion:
CO2 clearance can be greater than 4 times that of oxygen at a given blood flow when the gas to blood flow ratio is elevated to 4:1 or 8:1. The CO2 clearance was less dependent on surface area and configuration than oxygen transfer. Any ECMO system can be used for selective CO2 removal.
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