Is blood blue? or red?

Answer 1

Your blood is normally blue when contained inside your body. However, once it is exposed to oxygen it turns red.

Answer 2

In humans and other hemoglobin-using creatures, oxygenated blood is a bright red in its color. This is due to oxygenated iron in the red blood cells. Deoxygenated blood is a darker shade of red, which can be seen during blood donation and when venous blood samples are taken. However, due to an optical effect caused by the way in which light penetrates through the skin, veins typically appear blue in color. This has led to a common misconception that before venous blood is exposed to air it is blue

Answer 3

Blood cells full of oxygen are red. Blood cells without oxygen are the blue color. Blood plasma is the liquid medium that the blood cells travel in throughout the blood vessels. I think that the plasma is clear. This is why when someone cuts a vein the blood coming out is always red. The blood cells come in contact with oxygen.

Answer 4

"In humans and other hemoglobin-using creatures, oxygenated blood is a bright red in its color. This is due to oxygenated iron in the red blood cells. Deoxygenated blood is a darker shade of red, which can be seen during blood donation and when venous blood samples are taken. However, due to an optical effect caused by the way in which light penetrates through the skin, veins typically appear blue in color. This has led to a common misconception that before venous blood is exposed to air it is blue.''

Answer 5

Blood is red whether it's inside out outside of the body. The presence or relative absence of oxygen is what determines the "color" of blood. Hemoglobin is an important constituent of red blood cells. Hemoglobin contains iron atoms and has the ability to loosely associate with oxygen molecules. Hemoglobin can also associate with carbon dioxide. What gas (oxygen or carbon dioxide) associates with hemoglobin is based almost solely on how much of each is available. In the lungs, thereis a lot of oxygen available and so it associates with hemoglobin in the blood. The blood then travels in arteries out to your tissues (muscle, skin
etc). Oxygen delivered to tissues is rapidly used by the cells to perform all the chemical reactions that keep them healthy and the by-product is carbon dioxide. So when the blood gets to the tissues there is very little
oxygen and plenty of carbon dioxide, which means that the oxygen leaves hemoglobin for the tissues and carbon dioxide leaves the tissues for the hemoglobin in the blood. The blood then travels in veins back to the lungs where we start all over.

It turns out that hemoglobin has a red color to it and that oxygenated hemoglobin is bright red. So in arteries blood appears to be bright red. This is true inside and outside. Outside of the body the color actually fades a bit (becomes darker), because there is less pressure to keep oxygen associated with the hemoglobin. But if you cut an artery the blood squirting out will appear bright red. Blood that is in veins, however, has very little oxygen associated with it and this yields a color that is much darker. As you noted, because of having to look through the skin at veins they actually take on a blue tint, but really the blood
inside (and if you cut a vein) is just a deep shade of red. You can also see this in persons that have stopped breathing or have blood flow blocked to a specific area; they appear blue. (A condition referred to as cyanosis.)

So, a long answer to a short question. Blood is never actually blue, although it appears to be blue when we look at veins through skin. Blood is always red: bright red when it is oxygenated on the arteriolar side of our circulation, and deep red when it is not oxygenated on the venous side. It’s actually the material our veins are made out of and the fact that they are beneath several layers of skin that make them appear blue or gray.

Answer 6

The presence or relative absence of oxygen is what determines the 'color' of blood. Hemoglobin is an important constituent of red blood cells. Hemoglobin contains iron atoms and has the ability to loosely associate with oxygen molecules. Hemoglobin can also associate with carbon dioxide. What gas (oxygen or carbon dioxide) associates with hemoglobin is based almost solely on how much of each is available. In the lungs, there
is alot of oxygen available and so it associates with hemoglobin in the blood. The blood then travels in arteries out to your tissues(muscle, skin etc). Oxygen delivered to tissues is rapidly used by the cells to perform all the chemical reactions that keep them healthy and the by-product is carbon dioxide. So when the blood gets to the tissues there is very little oxygen and plenty of carbon dioxide, which means that the oxygen leaves hemoglobin for the tissues and carbon dioxide leaves the tissues for the hemoglobin in the blood. The blood then travels in veins back to the lungs where we start all over.


Finally, to your question. It turns out that hemoglobin has a red color to it and that oxygenated hemoglobin is bright red. So in arteries blood appears to be bright red. This is true inside and outside. Outside of the body the color actually fades a bit (becomes darker), because there is less pressure to keep oxygen associated with the hemoglobin. But if you cut an artery the blood squirting out will appear bright red. Blood that is in
veins, however, has very little oxygen associated with it and this yields a color that is much darker. Because of having to look through the skin at veins they actually take on a blue tint, but really the blood inside (and if you cut a vein) is just a deep shade of red. You can also see this in persons that have stopped breathing or have blood flow blocked to a specific area; they appear blue. (A condition referred to as cyanosis.)

So, a long answer to a short question. Blood is never actually blue, although it appears to be blue when we look at veins through skin. Blood is always red: bright red when it is oxygenated on the arteriolar side of our circulation, and deep red when it is not oxygenated on the venous side.

Answer 7

Blood is blue it turns red when it hits oxygen.

Answer 8

Blood is blue until oxygen hits it. That is when it turns red.

Answer 9

Blood is red whether it's exposed to oxygen or not, you morons. Blood carries oxygen throughout your body. Your veins are blue, their not clear. Blood always has and always will be RED.

Answer 10

Blue inside the body, but when the oxygen hits it it appears red.

Answer 11

both blood is blue when going to the heart and when it gets oxygen it is red