How blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and carbon dioxide back again. The oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve is the centre of the chapter, and it is the diagram examiners ask for most.
Topics, in the book’s order
- Oxygen transport · pp. 922–928 · asked 3 times
- Oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve · pp. 924–927 · asked 7 times
- Carbon dioxide transport · pp. 928–930 · asked 6 times
When you’ve read them: Quiz 107 · Transport of Gases in Blood, 15 questions.
After this chapter you should be able to
- explain how oxygen is carried in blood
- draw and label the O₂–Hb dissociation curve
- list what shifts that curve to the right or left, and explain each factor
- tell O₂ saturation, O₂ content and O₂ extraction apart
- explain how carbon dioxide is carried in blood
- explain the Bohr and Haldane effects and why they matter
Going further: the physiological reason behind each factor that moves the O₂ curve and the CO₂ curve.
Viva checklist
- Henry’s law, and how much O₂ is dissolved in 100 mL of blood
- The forms in which O₂ and CO₂ travel, with their percentages
- O₂-carrying capacity of 1 g of Hb, and of 100 mL of blood
- Oxygenation versus oxidation; methemoglobin
- The phases of the O₂–Hb curve, and why the plateau matters
- P50: its value and what a high or low P50 means
- Each factor that shifts the curve, which way it shifts it, and what controls 2,3-DPG
- The curves of myoglobin and fetal Hb
- Why CO poisoning is so dangerous, and how it is treated
- Saturation vs content vs extraction; why content matters in anemia
- The principle of pulse oximetry
- Chloride (Hamburger) shift; why venous hematocrit is higher
- Bohr effect vs Haldane effect