TRANSPORT OF OXYGEN
Blood serves to transport the respiratory gases. Transport of oxygen from lungs to the tissue
due to constant circulation of blood.
Transport of O2 from the lungs to tissue can be described as follows:
Uptake of oxygen in the lungs by pulmonary blood
Transport of oxygen in arterial blood
Release of O2 from blood to the interstitial fluid in tissue
Uptake of oxygen in the lungs by pulmonary blood
pO2 (mm Hg)
Arterial end of pulmonary capillary 40
Alveoli 104
Venous end of pulmonary capillary 104
Arterial end of systemic capillary 95
Tissue 40
Venous end of systemic capillary 40
PO2 of pulmonary arterial blood is 40mmHg and that alveolar air is about 104 mmHg.
Therefore due to this great concentration gradient, O2 readily diffuses from alveoli into the
blood.
Transport of oxygen in arterial blood
Henry’s law states that the amount of gas that dissolves in a liquid at a given temperature is
proportional to the partial pressure of the gas.
Oxygen is transported in the blood in two forms: as dissolved form and in combination with
haemoglobin.
Dissolved form
Oxygen dissolves in water of plasma and is transported in this physical form. Amount of
oxygen transported in this way is very negligible. It is only 0.3 mL/100 mL of plasma. It forms
only about 3% of total oxygen in blood.
Combination with haemoglobin.
Oxygen combines with hemoglobin in blood and is transported as oxyhemoglobin. Transport
of oxygen in this form is important because, maximum amount (97%) of oxygen is
transported by this method.
Oxygen Carrying Capacity of Hemoglobin
Oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin is the amount of oxygen transported by 1 gram of
hemoglobin. It is 1.34 mL/g.
Release of O2 from blood to the interstitial fluid in tissue
Oxygen release at rest
Oxygen delivery represents the amount of O2 that is presented to body cells per minute and
is equal to the arterial O2 content multiplied by cardiac output.When the arterial blood with
approximate pO2 100 mmHg reaches the tissues with tissue fluid pO2 40 mmHg; because of
pressure gradient, about 5 ml of O2 diffuses from the tissue capillaries to the interstitial fluid
out of 100 ml of blood (containing ∼ 19 ml O2 ) every minute.
Oxygen consumption of the whole body at rest with a cardiac output of 5 L/min is about or
250 ml of O2 per minute.
Oxygen release during exercise
Oxygen release during exercise or activity depending upon the severity of exercise the O2
consumption is increased per min. The oxygen demand of the tissues is met with following
changes:
Delivery of oxygen to the tissues is increased by:
Increase in blood flow to the tissues occurs due to:
Increase in cardiac output, 1276
Local arteriolar dilatation, and
Increase in the number of open capillaries.
Increase in RBC count due to splenic contraction.
Oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve is the curve that demonstrates the relationship
between partial pressure of oxygen and the percentage saturation of hemoglobin with
oxygen. It explains hemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen.
- Under normal conditions, oxygen-
hemoglobin dissociation curve is ‘S’ shaped or sigmoid shaped. Lower part of the curve
indicates dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin. Upper part of the curve indicates the
uptake of oxygen by hemoglobin depending upon partial pressure of oxygen.
Normally in the blood, hemoglobin is saturated with oxygen only up to 95%. Saturation of
hemoglobin with oxygen depends upon the partial pressure of oxygen. When the partial
pressure of oxygen is more,hemoglobin accepts oxygen and when the partial pressure of
oxygen is less, hemoglobin releases oxygen.
P50
P50 is the partial pressure of oxygen at which hemoglobin saturation with oxygen is 50%.
When the partial pressure of oxygen is 25 to 27 mm Hg, the hemoglobin is saturated to
about 50%.
Factors Affecting Oxygen-hemoglobin Dissociation Curve
Oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve is shifted to left or right by various factors:
1. Shift to left indicates acceptance (association) of oxygen by hemoglobin
i. In fetal blood because, fetal hemoglobin has got more affinity for oxygen than the adult
hemoglobin
ii. Decrease in hydrogen ion concentration and increase in pH (alkalinity).
2. Shift to right indicates dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin.
i. Decrease in partial pressure of oxygen
ii. Increase in partial pressure of carbon dioxide (Bohr effect)
iii. Increase in hydrogen ion concentration and decrease in pH (acidity)
iv. Increased body temperature
v. Excess of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) in RBC
Bohr Effect
Bohr effect is the effect by which presence of carbon dioxide decreases the affinity of
hemoglobin for oxygen.
In the tissues, due to continuous metabolic activities, the partial pressure of carbon
dioxide is very high and the partial pressure of oxygen is low. Due to this pressure
gradient, carbon dioxide enters the blood and oxygen is released from the blood to the
tissues.
