Haemoglobin Flashcards
what is a haemoglobin
a quaternary structure protein that carries oxygen around the body
what is an oxyhaemoglobin
when oxygen has bound to haemoglobin
what is associating
when oxygen binds to haemoglobin
what else is associating known as
loading
what is dissasociating
when oxygen leaves oxyhaemoglobin
what id dissasociating also known as
unloading
what is affinity
how readily oxygen associates with haemoglobin
what is partial pressure
the pressure created by a gas in a specific place
what is the Bohr a
effect
the effect of carbon dioxide on the affinity of haemoglobin:the more carbon dioxide the lower the affinity
how many polypeptide chains are in haemoglobin
four
what is group does each polypeptide chain in haemoglobin have
a haem group
what can a haem group do
bind to oxygen molecules making haemoglobin
what does the first molecule of oxygen to bind to a haemoglobin cause
it causes a change in the shape of haemoglobin,this uncovers other binding sites making the binding of oxygen easier
what does the amount of oxygen carried depend on
the partial pressure of the oxygen
what happens when oxygen has low partial pressure
oxygen is unloaded
what is an example when oxygen would have a low partial pressure
when tissues are respiring
what does the shape of the haemoglobin vary between and what does this cause
different animals,this causes the haemoglobins to have different affinities for oxygen
what is the cause for different affinities for oxygen
genes,for instance foetal haemoglobin and animals living in low oxygen environments have a higher affinity of oxygen
