BRAINCAKETransport of Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is produced by respiring tissues and must be carried in the blood to the lungs, where it diffuses into the alveoli and is exhaled. It is transported in three ways.
1. Dissolved in the plasma (about 5%). A small amount of carbon dioxide dissolves directly in the blood plasma.
2. As carbaminohaemoglobin (about 10%). Some carbon dioxide combines with the amine groups of the haemoglobin polypeptide chains inside red blood cells, forming carbaminohaemoglobin. It does not bind to the haem groups, so it does not compete directly with oxygen.
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Key terms in this lesson
- carbonic anhydrase
- An enzyme in red blood cells that catalyses the reversible reaction between carbon dioxide and water to form carbonic acid.
- chloride shift
- The movement of chloride ions into red blood cells to balance the charge lost when hydrogencarbonate ions diffuse out.
More in Transport in Animals
- Haemoglobin
- Oxygen Loading and Unloading
- The Oxygen Dissociation Curve
- Partial Pressure of Oxygen
- The Bohr Effect
- Fetal Haemoglobin
- Carbonic Anhydrase
- Haemoglobinic Acid
All 32 lessons in Transport in Animals · All OCR AS-level Biology topics