Transport of gases in the blood

The air at the height of the world’s highest

peak,
Mt. Everest is so low in oxygen that most
people would pass out instantly if exposed
to it

Surviving in Thin Air

The high mountains of the
Himalayas have claimed the lives of
even the world’s top mountain
climbers
Twice a year, flocks of geese migrate over the Himalayas
• They are able to fly at such a high altitude because of the
efficiency of their lungs
• These birds have blood with hemoglobin with a very high
affinity for oxygen
• This adaptation allows them to carry large amounts of
oxygen to their tissues to exchange with carbon dioxide
Cut

Cross section
of respiratory
Some animals, like
surface (the
skin covering
the earthworm
the body)

Use their entire skin

as a gas-exchange
organ
Capillaries
In most animals
specialized body Body surface

parts provide
large respiratory Respiratory

surfaces for gas Body cells

surface
(air tubes)

exchange O2 (no capillaries)

CO2

Body surface
Body surface
Respiratory
CO2 O2 surface Respiratory
(within lung) surface
(gill)

CO2 O2 CO2 Capillary

Capillary O2
 Terrestrial
vertebrates
have lungs
Nasal
cavity

Pharynx

•In mammals, air Larynx

(Esophagus)
Left lung

inhaled through Trachea

the nostrils Right lung

•Passes through Bronchus

the pharynx and Bronchiole

larynx into the

trachea, bronchi, Diaphragm

and bronchioles (Heart)

 The three phases of gas exchange
MECHANISMS
OF GAS
EXCHANGE O2
CO2
1 Breathing

Lung

Gas exchange involves Circulatory

breathing, transport of system
gases, and exchange of 2 Transport
of gases by
gases with tissue cells the circulatory
system

Mitochondria

3 Exchange O2
of gases CO2
with Capillary
body
cells Cell
 In these animals gases need to be
transported from place of absorption to
the tissues!!!!

TRANSPORT • Blood transports respiratory gases

• The heart pumps oxygen-poor
OF GASES IN blood to the lungs
THE BODY • Where it picks up O2 and
drops off CO2
• Then the heart pumps the oxygen-
rich blood to body cells
• Where it drops off O2 and
picks up CO2
 At normal PO2 (100mmHg), 3mL
PROBLEM: of O2 can be dissolved in water
Solubility of However, arterial blood has the
O2 in water equivalent of 200mL of O2
is relatively
197mL of O2 need to be bound
low and transported by a “vehicule”
molecule
 Hemoglobin carries O2 and helps
transport CO2 and buffer the blood

Iron atom

O2 loaded
in lungs

O2 unloaded
in tissues

Iron is part of the Heme group

Polypeptide chain

Hemoglobin in red blood cells transports oxygen, helps buffer

the blood and carries some CO2
 Hemoglobin carries O2 and helps
transport CO2 and buffer the blood

!" bound to Hb
*+,-./01233,4/- 1252146, *7 89**:
* 100

• Influenced by: Blood PO2

TOTAL O2 in the blood =

Amount of hemoglobin * percent saturation of
hemoglobin
 Increasing PO2 increases Hb saturation
Tissues at rest Alveoli

Hemoglobin
saturation

Amount O2 “unloaded”

Binding O2 to one Hb subunit increases the affinity of the

remaining subunit to O2
 Approx. 90% of total hemoglobin BOGOTA (117mmHg)
is bound to O2

Safety factor:
Decreases in Po2 do not
have a large impact on
o2 saturation

Plateau

Steep slope

Healthy person at high altitude Healthy person at sea level

 Bound O2
does NOT
contribute to
PO2

• Only dissolved
oxygen contributes
to PO2
• Hemoglobin
determines the
TOTAL amount of
O2 available for Same thing happens in the
diffusion capillaries
 O2 rapidly binds to Hb O2 continuously goes into
keeping PO2 lower than mitochondria keeping
the alveoli so diffusion cellular PO2 low
continuous

Alveolar PO2
105mmHg

75% saturation is always

Venous PO2 40mmHg maintained
= buffer if oxygen needs
Hemoglobin saturation 75%
increase
(See O2 dissociation curve)
 Competes with oxygen for
hemoglobin binding sites

CO2 has an Changes conformation of

extremely hemoglobin upon binding
changing its oxygen dissociation
high affinity properties
for heme
Decreases transfer of oxygen to
sites tissues
 Affected by:
• PCO2
• H+
Hb saturation
• Temperature
• [BPG]
• Presence of fetal hemoglobin
at any given PO2, Hb has ↓ affinity for oxygen at any given PO2, Hb has ↑ affinity for oxygen

FACTORS INCREASE IN TISSUE CAPILLARY

BLOOD > ARTERIAL BLOOD

P O2 (mmHg) P O2 (mmHg)
 Placenta, containing
maternal blood vessels
and fetal capillaries
CONNECTION Umbilical cord,
containing fetal
blood vessels
Amniotic
fluid

The human fetus

exchanges gases Uterus

with the mother’s

bloodstream
A human fetus
exchanges gases with • Fetal hemoglobin
Enhances oxygen transfer from maternal blood
maternal blood in the
• At birth, increasing CO2 in the fetal blood
placenta Stimulates the breathing control centers to
initiate breathing
 TRANSPORT OF CARBON DIOXIDE

• 200mL of CO2 per minute

• More soluble in water than oxygen
• About 10% dissolves in plasma
• 25-30% form carbaminohemoglobin

C"2 + %& ⇌ HbCO2 TOTAL-BLOOD

carbon dioxide
• 60-65% converted to bicarbonate
Carbonic anhydrase
−
C"2 + %2" ⇌ H2CO3 ⇌ HCO3 +% +
Carbonic acid bicarbonate
Rate limiting – in the erythrocytes
 Most CO2 in
the blood is
transported as
bicarbonate
ions in the
plasma

CO2 + H2O H2CO3 H+ + HCO3–

Carbon Water Carbonic Hydrogen Bicarbonate
dioxide acid ions
 Diffusion of
dissolved CO2
starts reaction

CO2 + H2O H2CO3 H+ + HCO3–

Carbon Water Carbonic Hydrogen Bicarbonate
dioxide acid ions
 HYDROGEN IONS

O2 CO2
TISSUE

CAPILLARY HbO2 → Hb → HbCO2 WHAT HAPPENS TO HYDROGEN IONS?

−
HCO3 + ' +

• Hb binds a lot of it: HbH so it is not dissolved

 HYDROGEN IONS

• In the lungs: H reacts with HCO32

HCO32 ⇌ H2O + CO2