Normobaric Oxygen Toxicity of the Lung

ALTHOUGH oxygen therapy has been of clear benefit in many clinical settings, it also carries a risk of tissue damage. All tissues of the body can be injured by sufficiently high oxygen concentrations, but the lung is exposed directly to the highest partial pressure of inspired oxygen. The precise concentration of oxygen that is toxic to the lung probably depends on a large number of variables in the exposed person, including age, nutrition, endocrine status, and previous exposure to oxygen or other oxidants.1 2 3 Hyperbaric oxygen accelerates the effects of oxygen toxicity and also damages the central nervous system, probably because . . .