Biology Emergency!!!?

Question

what must happen to the oxygen bound to the hemoglobin as the red blood cells move to tissue that is low in oxygen?

Or maybe this is easier.
Whats gonna happen to the oxygen that is attached to the hemoglobin as the red blood cell goes to an area that doesn't have a lot of oxygen? I cant find anything on it in the book...

If you could break that down into lamens terms I think your looking at a big ol' best answer.

Answer 1

As oxygenated haemoglobin is transported to tissue which requires oxygen a conformational change will occur in the haemoglobin molecule resulting in the disassociation of the oxygen from the molecule's iron group. This oxygen ins then free to be used by the deoxygenated tissue.

Ok, laymans terms...

Haemoblobin is a protein which contains iron atoms. Oxygen and iron like to be together so when there is free oxygen near haemoglobin it goes and binds to the haemoglobin iron. This causes the protein to change shape so that the iron and the oxygen are moved closer to the centre of the protein. Because it is now in the middle of the protein, the oxygen is now very tightly attached.
When Haemoglobin moves to an area where there is not much oxygen it changes back to it's original shape again and pushes the oxygen out.

Using this method haemoglobin is able to pick up oxygen when there is a lot of it arround, and drop oxygen off where there isn't much of it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I would think it still releases oxygen into the low oxygen tissues provided it as oxygen to spare Sorry I don't know the exact mechanism Try a University Library

Answer 3

think of the hemoglobin as a passive reservoir that holds the oxygen. it's always in equilibrium with the amount of oxygen in it's enviroment. so when it goes from the highly oxygenated arterial circulation to the poorly oxygenated venous circulation, it's releasing it's oxygen by passive diffusion.