Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation Curve Lab Report

Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation Curve A oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve is a tool used to show the relationship between the saturation of oxygen and the partial pressure of oxygen. It directly tells us how a person own body is utilizing oxygen intake, how carbon dioxide levels are being regulated, as well as how efficient the hemoglobin in our body binds and release oxygen molecules to the appropriate tissues that require it. Normally the oxygen that our tissues need in order to function properly on a daily basis is carried by a red protein known as hemoglobin. It is able to bind to oxygen thanks to the heme group that it has, which has a iron molecule in the center with a +2 charge. Hemoglobin is a great oxygen transporter in the sense that it has no organelles, particularly mitochondria. So that it would not be able to utilize the oxygen molecules, that would be needed for the various tissues in our body. When hemoglobin binds to the oxygen molecules it is considered to be in a relaxed state, when there is no oxygens bind to hemoglobin it is in a tense state. A relaxed state has a much higher affinity for oxygen that compared to …show more content…
A shift to the right in which saturation of oxygen greatly decreases might indicate that a patient is either acidosis, has elevation of CO2 levels, or have increased 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) a by product of glucose metabolism. An example that may also lead to a shift to the right is when a person is undergoing heavy exercise. In this situation, the demand for oxygen needed by the skeletal muscles is at a all time high. And so in order to meet these requirement the hemoglobin must have a much lower affinity to oxygen, so that it is able to quickly release the oxygen molecule that the tissues need. Temperature would also increase, as a result would influence and reinforce this low oxygen affinity