Final answer:
Skin findings such as pallor, mottling, and cyanosis can indicate inadequate O₂ delivery to the tissues, with cyanosis being a tell-tale sign of significant oxygen deprivation in conditions like severe septal heart defects or hemoglobin deficiencies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Skin findings that may indicate inadequate O₂ delivery to the tissues include pallor, mottling, and cyanosis. Pallor refers to paleness or decreased coloration of the skin, mottling is a patchy appearance with both pale and cyanotic areas, and cyanosis is a blue or purple coloration of the skin. The presence of cyanosis is a sign that there is a significantly lower level of oxygenated blood reaching the body's tissues, which can be observed in conditions such as severe septal defects like the tetralogy of Fallot or patent foramen ovale. In infants with blue baby syndrome, despite normal skin pigmentation, a deficiency of oxygen in the blood results in cyanosis, especially noticeable during active periods. A similar effect can occur in patients with insufficient hemoglobin; without adequate hemoglobin, oxygen transport is compromised, leading to decreased oxygenation of the body's tissues. The percent saturation of hemoglobin, also referred to as 'percent sat', is a critical value in medical assessments of oxygenation status.