2. More on Haemoglobin Flashcards
What is the partial pressure of carbon dioxide?
pCO2?
The measure of the concentration of carbon dioxide in a cell.
Carbon dioxide also has the ability to affect what?
Oxygen unloading.
What happens where there is a higher concentration of carbon dioxide?
Haemoglobin gives up its oxygen more readily.
Gets more oxygen to cells during activity.
What happens when cells respire?
They produce carbon dioxide, raising the concentration of carbon dioxide.
Increasing the rate of oxygen unloading - DC shifts to the right.
Saturation of blood with oxygen is lower for a given concentration of carbon dioxide, meaning more oxygen is released. BOHR EFFECT.
What is the word equation for respiration?
Glucose + oxygen –> Carbon dioxide + water + energy.
When dissociation curves are being compared, the furthest curve to the left means what?
The higher the haemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen is.
Different organisms have different types of haemoglobin with different oxygen capabilities, this depends upon things like?
Where they live.
How active they are.
Size.
Describe an organism which lives in a low oxygen environment?
They have haemoglobin with a higher affinity for oxygen that human haemoglobin.
Because there isn’t much oxygen available, haemoglobin needs to be good at loading available oxygen.
DC left of ours.
EXAMPLE of an organism who lives in a low oxygen environment?
Lugworm.
Burrows beneath sand where theres a low concentration of oxygen.
High affinity for oxygen.
Describe an organism which lives in a high oxygen environment?
Organisms which are very active and have high oxygen demand have haemoglobin with lower affinity for oxygen than human haemoglobin.
Haemoglobin needs to easily unload oxygen, so its available for them to use.
DC right of ours.
EXAMPLE of an organism who lives in a high oxygen environment?
Hawk.
High respiratory rate living where theres plenty of oxygen.
Haemoglobin has to unload oxygen quickly as has a low affinity for oxygen.
Give examples of where environments have low oxygen?
Underground.
High altitudes.
Close to seabed.
Small mammals have a higher surface area to volume ration than larger mammals, what does this mean?
They lose heat quickly so they have high metabolic rate to keep them warm.
High oxygen demand.
Why do small mammals have haemoglobin with a lower affinity for oxygen?
Because they need their haemoglobin to easily unload to meet their high oxygen demand.
DC to right of ours.
What is a metabolic rate?
The rate at which energy is used.
Higher metabolic rate lead to a higher respiration rate - high oxygen demand.
