[Corvettaholic]

I understand how lungs basically work, but what I don't get is how you get oxygen atoms into the blood stream. Figure this sounds biological enough for this particular forum   What does oxygen bond to in the bloodstream, and how does it get through those little tiny air sacs in the lungs?

[jdurg]

Remember, the air sacs in the lungs are ENORMOUS compared to an oxygen molecule.  O₂ has no problem moving through the cell walls in the lungs.  Once in the blood stream, it bonds to the heme-ring of the molecule hemoglobin which is a part of every single red blood cell in your body.  From there it is transported around your body.

[Corvettaholic]

What exactly is the heme-ring? I mean, what atom does the oxygen bond to?

[jdurg]

I think the following link will answer all your questions a bit better than I can.  

http://www.isat.jmu.edu/users/klevicca/isat454/hemoglobin_essay.htm

[Corvettaholic]

Hey good stuff! I think scientists have developed hemoglobin on their own? Pretty sure synthetic blood exists, and is going through clinical trials in a couple hospitals. Works pretty well from what I've read. Now how does differing blood types work? Cause I'm A pos, and how does that make me different from someone who is AB neg? Something to do with the 2 globin chains?

[billnotgatez]

Somewhere I read that O negative can be the universal donor - True?

[jdurg]

Yes that is true.  O- does not contain any Rhesus anitbodies which means that it does not matter if the receiver is Rh+ or Rh-.  Also, the O blood type does not cause any rejection reactions with any blood type.  So O- is indeed the universal donor.  

[Donaldson Tan]

Hey good stuff! I think scientists have developed hemoglobin on their own? Pretty sure synthetic blood exists, and is going through clinical trials in a couple hospitals. Works pretty well from what I've read. Now how does differing blood types work? Cause I'm A pos, and how does that make me different from someone who is AB neg? Something to do with the 2 globin chains?

MIT already develop a prototype for this back in 2002, part of their nanomedicine research.

[Mr Amino]

O2 transport is actually very interesting to look at from a chemistry standpoint.  When you look at the bonding of oxygen to Fe2+ in the heme using molecular orbitals, you can see why carbon monoxide displaces oxygen and kills people.  Also, the release of oxygen and capture of H+ facilitates the release of CO2 from dissolved HCO3 in the blood.

[Mitch]

I'm O+

[brahmbhattviral]

there is an iron containing protein called hemoglobin which can bind oxygen and carry it in the blood stream. there  also buffer systems which help the transfer of oxygen into the blood stream at the longs while deliver oxygen at the tissue level and grab cafbon dioxide. it is also a function of the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide at these sites which can affect delivery of oxygen

[pizza1512]

It gets into you by diffusion...

 

[Donaldson Tan]

there is an iron containing protein called hemoglobin ..

it's spelled haemoglobin. oxygen is absorbed because of the oxygen concentration gradient. blood in the lungs are lowly-oxygenated and rherefore the haemoglobin readily accepts oxygen. it follows a concentration gradient.

[Mitch]

In America we spell it hemoglobin

[pizza1512]

Well spellings are as complicated as Latin ones!