transportation of oxygen Flashcards
what happens when oxygen diffuses into capillaries supplying the skeletal muscles during exercise?
3% is dissolved into plasma
97% combines with haemoglobin to form oxyhaemoglobin
what is plasma?
the fluid part of the blood that surrounds and transports blood cells
what is haemoglobin?
an iron-containing pigment found in red blood cells - it combines with oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin
what does haemoglobin carry when it is fully saturated?
four oxygen molecules
why is oxygen released from oxyhaemoglobin at the tissues?
due to the low pressure of oxygen that exists there - this release is known as oxyhaemoglobin dissociation
what is oxygen stored by in the muscles?
myoglobin
what is myoglobin?
an iron-containing muscle pigment in slow twitch muscles that has a higher affinity for oxygen than haemoglobin
what is good about myoglobin?
has a higher affinity for oxygen than Hb and will store oxygen for the mitochondria until it is used by muscles
what is the mitochondria?
the place where respiration and energy production occurs
what is the oxygen dissociation curve?
it represents the relationship between oxygen and haemoglobin
what is the shift to the right in the oxygen dissociation curve known as?
the bohr shift
why does the curve shift to the right?
when the muscles require more oxygen
what are the 3 factors responsible for the increase in oxygen dissociation?
1) increased blood temperature
2) partial pressure of co2 increases
3) pH
increase in blood temperature:
when blood and muscle temperature increases during exercise, oxygen will dissociate from haemoglobin more readily
partial pressure of carbon dioxide increases:
as the level of blood carbon dioxide rises during exercise, oxygen will dissociate faster from haemoglobin
