What is a common cause of histologic hypoxia?

Histologic hypoxia refers to a condition where there is insufficient oxygen at the tissue level, despite adequate oxygenation of blood. A common cause of this phenomenon is sepsis. During sepsis, the systemic inflammatory response leads to altered tissue perfusion and microcirculatory failure. This can result in reduced oxygen delivery and utilization at the cellular level, even if arterial oxygen levels might be adequate.

In sepsis, various factors contribute to tissue hypoxia. For instance, the inflammatory response can cause vasodilation and increased vascular permeability, leading to deficiencies in oxygen and nutrient delivery to tissues. Moreover, sepsis can impair cellular metabolism, further exacerbating the inability of tissues to properly use the available oxygen, hence leading to a state of hypoxia at the histologic level.

Other options, while they can contribute to decreased oxygen delivery or utilization, do not directly align with the pathophysiology of histologic hypoxia as prominently as sepsis does.