After gas exchange has occurred, the transportation of the gas through the blood is the next step. There are a few distinct processes that can occur to promote gas transportation. There are three ways that carbon dioxide is transported, but only two ways that oxygen is transported.
Oxygen Transport
1. Dissolved in blood. As oxygen moves through the body, it is simply dissolved within the blood. This means that it doesn't bind to hemoglobin, it moves through the blood freely with ease, just as salt would dissolve into water without any elaboration. It can be described as transport in plasma, because plasma is the part of the blood that fills the spaces between the blood and the platelets. Plasma is the true liquid form of the blood that forms the matrix.
2. Bound to hemoglobin. Within red blood cells, there are many molecules of hemoglobin (Hb), in which oxygen binds to, creating oxyhemoglobin. Oxygen is a compound labeled as friendly, because it behaves with cooperativity. Cooperativity occurs when one oxygen molecule binds to hemoglobin, which allows three more oxygen molecules to bind more easily than the last. The amount of oxygen bound to or released from hemoglobin depends on the partial pressure of oxygen in the particular cells in the body. The partial pressure of oxygen is lower when the body is active, causing the hemoglobin to release more of the oxygen molecules at this time. The opposite is true for an inactive body. The majority of oxygen gas is transported through oxyhemoglobin, otherwise known as the bond between oxygen and hemoglobin.
Carbon Dioxide Transport
1. Dissolved in blood. Much like oxygen, carbon dioxide can also be dissolved within the blood. Too much carbon dioxide that is dissolved within the blood can cause problems by making your blood pH drop, leading to acidity within the blood itself. Therefore, only about 7 percent of carbon dioxide is dissolved into the blood stream.
2. Bound to hemoglobin. Carbon dioxide can also bind to hemoglobin in order to travel through the bloodstream, just as oxygen does. Carbon dioxide binds to hemoglobin in the lungs, creating carbaminohemoglobin, in contrast to oxygen which typically binds to hemoglobin in all other cells of the body. The partial pressure of oxygen is higher than the partial pressure of carbon dioxide within the cells of the lungs, causing the carbon dioxide to diffuse into the lung cells attempting to make the two sides even. This is the exact opposite of what occurs during oxygen binding to hemoglobin. Both oxygen and carbon dioxide compete to bind with hemoglobin.
3. Bicarbonate. Carbon dioxide tends to unite with water within the cells. A chemical reaction occurs when an enzyme known as carbonic anhydrase combines with these two molecules, causing an acid to form, known as carbonic acid. This acid does not stay intact, but instead it releases a hydrogen ion leaving a product of bicarbonate (HCO3-). This form of carbon dioxide is the most common within the body.
Oxygen Transport
1. Dissolved in blood. As oxygen moves through the body, it is simply dissolved within the blood. This means that it doesn't bind to hemoglobin, it moves through the blood freely with ease, just as salt would dissolve into water without any elaboration. It can be described as transport in plasma, because plasma is the part of the blood that fills the spaces between the blood and the platelets. Plasma is the true liquid form of the blood that forms the matrix.
2. Bound to hemoglobin. Within red blood cells, there are many molecules of hemoglobin (Hb), in which oxygen binds to, creating oxyhemoglobin. Oxygen is a compound labeled as friendly, because it behaves with cooperativity. Cooperativity occurs when one oxygen molecule binds to hemoglobin, which allows three more oxygen molecules to bind more easily than the last. The amount of oxygen bound to or released from hemoglobin depends on the partial pressure of oxygen in the particular cells in the body. The partial pressure of oxygen is lower when the body is active, causing the hemoglobin to release more of the oxygen molecules at this time. The opposite is true for an inactive body. The majority of oxygen gas is transported through oxyhemoglobin, otherwise known as the bond between oxygen and hemoglobin.
Carbon Dioxide Transport
1. Dissolved in blood. Much like oxygen, carbon dioxide can also be dissolved within the blood. Too much carbon dioxide that is dissolved within the blood can cause problems by making your blood pH drop, leading to acidity within the blood itself. Therefore, only about 7 percent of carbon dioxide is dissolved into the blood stream.
2. Bound to hemoglobin. Carbon dioxide can also bind to hemoglobin in order to travel through the bloodstream, just as oxygen does. Carbon dioxide binds to hemoglobin in the lungs, creating carbaminohemoglobin, in contrast to oxygen which typically binds to hemoglobin in all other cells of the body. The partial pressure of oxygen is higher than the partial pressure of carbon dioxide within the cells of the lungs, causing the carbon dioxide to diffuse into the lung cells attempting to make the two sides even. This is the exact opposite of what occurs during oxygen binding to hemoglobin. Both oxygen and carbon dioxide compete to bind with hemoglobin.
3. Bicarbonate. Carbon dioxide tends to unite with water within the cells. A chemical reaction occurs when an enzyme known as carbonic anhydrase combines with these two molecules, causing an acid to form, known as carbonic acid. This acid does not stay intact, but instead it releases a hydrogen ion leaving a product of bicarbonate (HCO3-). This form of carbon dioxide is the most common within the body.