Haemoglobin

Question 1

How many red blood cells does the blood have and what is a normal concentration of haemoglobin?

Answer 1

There are between 3.5-5x10^12 red blood cells per litre of the blood and each red cell contains around 640 million molecules of haemoglobin. A normal conc of haemoglobin is about 120-165 grams per litre.

Question 2

Where is haemoglobin synthesised?

Answer 2

Haem component synthesised in the mitochondria while globin synthesised in rough endoplasmic reticulum.

Question 3

Where is the haem group found?

Answer 3

Apart from haemoglobin, also found in other proteins e.g. myoglobin, cytochromes, peroxidases and catalases.

Question 4

What does haem consist of and what are its features thereby?

Answer 4

It is a combination of a protophorphyrin ring and a central iron atom where iron usually found in ferrous form (Fe2+). It is able to combine reversibly with oxygen. The haem groups are found within pockets of globin proteins such as haemoglobin.