Haemoglobin and oxygen Flashcards
What is the main role of the cardiovascular system?
Transport oxygen and glucose torespiring tissues
What does oxygen bird to in red blood cells?
Haemoglobin
What is haemoglobin?
A protein
What protein structure does it have?
Quaternary
Why does it have a quaternary structure?
It has 4 polypeptide chains
Define quaternary structure
2 or more polypeptide chains
What are the polypeptide chains referred as?
Haem groups
What is a haem group?
An iron ion
What type of chains are they?
Alpha and beta
What does each haem group contain?
- Ferrous ion
- one molecule of oxygen O2
How many oxygens are there altogether ?
8
Define partial pressure:
Concentration of oxygen
Define loading:
haemoglebin picking up oxygen
Define unloading;
Haemoglobin releasing oxygen
Define affinity
Attraction
What is low affinity?
Dosen’t want oxygen
What is high affinity?
Want oxygen
? What happens if there’s low affinity
Unloading
What happens if there’s high affinity?
Loading
Where is there high partial pressure?
Lungs
Where is there low partial pressure?
Respiring tissues or cells
Why do respiring tissues or cells have low partial pressure?
Because of respiration
What is oxyhaemoglobin??
Oxygen and haemoglobin
Why does haemoglobin change shapes?
Because of the environment