Physiology 3120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Sigmoid Function, Red Blood Cell, Hemoglobin

• School: Western University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: Physiology 3120
• Professor: Tom Stavraky

Document Summary

Once air reaches the alveoli through the process of ventilation, o2 crosses the blood gas barrier into the blood and is transported to the different tissue. Co2 is removed from the blood and is exhaled. Oxygen transport in blood occurs two different ways: O2 transport as a dissolve gas represents a minor component of total o2 transport. The amount of a gas that is dissolved in a liquid is defined by henry"s law. Henry"s law: concentration of a dissolved gas = pressure * solubility. O2 is not very soluble in blood thus this means only 0. 3 ml o2 / 100 ml of blood can be transported this way. This amount of oxygen would not be adequate to meet the tissue demands of. Binding of o2 to hemoglobin (hb) represents the major form of o2 transport in the blood. Hemoglobin is a protein consisting of 4 subunits.