pulse oximeter
noun
plural pulse oximeters
: a noninvasive medical device that utilizes spectrophotometry to measure the oxygen saturation of circulating arterial blood in an individual by determining the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin pulsating through a network of blood capillaries by way of a sensor attached typically to a finger, toe, or earlobe
Your pulse oximeter will give you a numerical reading—a percentage that indicates the level of oxygen saturation in your blood.—
Tara Parker-Pope
Tara Parker-PopeExamples of pulse oximeter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Not all research on racial disparities of pulse oximeters is threatened.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 29 Jan. 2025
Our draft recommendations are based on the best available science to help address concerns of disparate performance of pulse oximeters based on an individual's skin pigmentation.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
The guidance on pulse oximeters was just one of a number of new guidelines – including on AI in drug development and the use of tissue biopsies in clinical trials – that the agency issued in the final weeks before the Trump Administration takes office.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is calling for stricter testing standards for pulse oximeters—devices commonly used to measure blood oxygen levels—under a new federal proposal released Monday.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pulse oximeter 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Erika Edwards, NBC News, 29 Jan. 2025
Our draft recommendations are based on the best available science to help address concerns of disparate performance of pulse oximeters based on an individual's skin pigmentation.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
The guidance on pulse oximeters was just one of a number of new guidelines – including on AI in drug development and the use of tissue biopsies in clinical trials – that the agency issued in the final weeks before the Trump Administration takes office.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is calling for stricter testing standards for pulse oximeters—devices commonly used to measure blood oxygen levels—under a new federal proposal released Monday.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pulse oximeter
Dictionary Entries Near pulse oximeter
Cite this Entry
“Pulse oximeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pulse%20oximeter. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
pulse oximeter
noun
: a noninvasive medical device that utilizes spectrophotometry to measure the oxygen saturation of circulating arterial blood in an individual by determining the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin pulsating through a network of blood capillaries by way of a sensor attached typically to a finger, toe, or earlobe
Note: The pulse oximeter typically sounds an alarm if the blood saturation becomes less than optimal.
Pulse oximeters measure hemoglobin oxygen saturation via an external probe. The light of two varying wavelengths passes through the skin, and the difference in absorbance by arterial blood of these two wavelengths by the photodetector within the pulse oximeter is used to calculate the level of oxygenation.—Pediatric Emergency Medicine Reports
Pediatric Emergency Medicine ReportsLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share