Blood Gas transport Flashcards
what happens to gases carried in the blood before they are transported in other forms?
gases carried in the blood first dissolve in the plasma before mostly being transported in other forms
can alveolar air dissolve straight into haemoglobin?
no - there are a series of steps
how much of the oxygen transported by the blood is bound to Hb?
98%
is co2 also transported in the blood bound to Hb?
only a small proportion of co2 is transported bound to Hb, but at a different site to o2
how is the majority of co2 transported, and why?
because co2 is more soluble, a greater proportion is transported just dissolved in the plasma
what does partial pressure within the blood indicate?
partial pressure within the blood refers to how much of that gas is dissolved in the plasma, doesn’t necessarily indicate how much is bound to haemoglobin
Why is haemoglobin critical to o2 transport?
oxygen has low solubility in plasma, and in order to dissolve the amount of O2 needed to supply tissues, an impossibly high alveolar PO2 would be required
The presence of haemoglobin overcomes this problem- organisms have evolved carrying proteins with high oxygen binding affinity
Hb it enables O2 to be concentrated within blood (↑ carrying capacity ie. larger volume of o2 can be transported within circulatory fluid) at gas exchange surfaces and then released at respiring tissues.
what 2 things greatly increases the number of oxygen molecules that can be carried?
- The multiple (4) binding sites present on haemoglobin
- The high concentration of the protein within the large number of red blood cells present within the blood
what 3 things can be used to define/measure the o2 content of blood?
1) O2 partial pressure (PaO2, kPa)
≈ “the partial pressure of O2 within a gas phase (at a gas-liquid interface) that would yield this much O2 in the plasma at equilibrium”
2) Total O2 content (CaO2), expressed as mL of O2 per L of blood (ml/L),
3) O2 saturation (SaO2 = measured directly in arterial blood, SpO2 = estimated by pulse oximetry), expressed as %,
define o2 saturation
“What % of total available haemoglobin binding sites are occupied by oxygen?”
define total o2 content
“what volume of O2 is being carried in each litre of blood, including O2 dissolved in the plasma and O2 bound to Hb?”
what can the relationship between O2 concentration, partial pressure and saturation be shown by?
the ODC
oxygen-dissociation curve
what does the oxygen-haemoglobin dissociation curve illustrate?
relationship between how much O2 partial pressure the blood is exposed to and how much O2 is actually bound to haemoglobin
describes the affinity between oxygen and haemoglobin
state and explain the shape of the oxygen-haemoglobin curve and why it looks this way:
Sigmoidal (s) shape, because you have an acceleration of the curve due to cooperate binding
Once the first O2 binds to a molecule of haemoglobin (haem group) it makes it easier for subsequent oxygen molecules to bind until they’re full
This can only go on for so long, because at a certain point you start to fill up and saturate the available binding sites, so you inevitably get a plateau at the point at which saturation reaches 100%
oxygen affinity is itself affected by the number of oxygen molecules bound
Why is haemoglobin so effective at transporting O2 within the body?
1) The structure of Hb produces high O2 affinity
(2) The concentration of haem groups & Hb contained in RBCs enables high carrying capacity
(3) The oxygen-haemoglobin binding curve shifts to offload oxygen to demanding tissues
(4) Hb O2 affinity changes depending on the local environment, enabling O2 delivery to be coupled to demand
explain the importance of the fact that the structure of Hb gives it a high O2 affinity
means a high level of Hb-O2 binding and saturation is achieved at a relatively low PO2
You need to go to extremely hypoxic levels to start getting really substantial effects on haemoglobin saturation
explain the benefits of having 4 binding sits on Hb and having such a high conc of Hb in RBC’s
(each haem group has 4 binding sites, and 270 Hb molecules per RBC and 5 billion RBC’s per ml of blood)
so, overall there are a very large number of o2 binding sites enabling it to carry a huge amount of o2 per unit of blood
explain why the oxygen-haemoglobin binding curve shifts to offload oxygen to demanding tissues
The degree of which Hb binds to oxygen is affected by physiological factors (PCO2, pH, temperature and [2,3-DPG])
These factors affect the number of o2 molecules bound to haemoglobin by altering the structural confirmation of the Hb molecule and changing O2-Hb affinity
This has the effect of shifting the oxygen-haemoglobin dissociation curve to the right or left
explain what a leftwards shift and a rightward shift on the curve indicate:
leftward - higher Hb-o2 affinity
(Hb binds more o2 at a given Po2)
rightward - lower Hb-o2 affinity
(Hb binds less o2 at a given Po2)
describe the Bohr effect
The effect of CO2 and pH on Hb-O2 affinity
In respiring tissue carbon dioxide and 2,3-DPG (product of respiration) levels increase as well as pH, shifting the curve to the right
Less oxygen is bound to Hb as the oxygen is being released to tissue that needs that oxygen
in resting tissue state what are co2 levels are like and what is the relevance of this?
In resting tissue, there are low levels of CO2 and so the Hb binds to more oxygen