{"id":205619,"date":"2025-03-25T06:27:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T06:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=205619"},"modified":"2025-03-25T06:27:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T06:27:49","slug":"how-is-co2-transported-in-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/25\/how-is-co2-transported-in-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"How is CO2 transported in blood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
How is CO2 transported in blood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The correct answer and explanation is :<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n
How is CO\u2082 Transported in Blood?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) is transported in the blood through three primary mechanisms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Dissolved in Plasma (7-10%)<\/strong> \u2013 A small percentage of CO\u2082 dissolves directly in the plasma and is carried in its free form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Bound to Hemoglobin (20-30%)<\/strong> \u2013 CO\u2082 binds to hemoglobin (Hb) in red blood cells, forming carbaminohemoglobin (HbCO\u2082)<\/strong>. This process occurs at the amino groups of hemoglobin, not at the oxygen-binding sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
As Bicarbonate Ions (HCO\u2083\u207b) (60-70%)<\/strong> \u2013 The majority of CO\u2082 is transported as bicarbonate. Inside red blood cells, CO\u2082 reacts with water (H\u2082O) under the action of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase<\/strong>, forming carbonic acid (H\u2082CO\u2083)<\/strong>. This acid quickly dissociates into bicarbonate (HCO\u2083\u207b) and hydrogen ions (H\u207a)<\/strong>. The bicarbonate diffuses into the plasma, while chloride ions (Cl\u207b) move into the RBCs to maintain electrical balance, a process called the chloride shift<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Explanation (300 words)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) is a metabolic waste product produced by cells during aerobic respiration. Once formed, it must be efficiently transported to the lungs for exhalation. The three mechanisms of CO\u2082 transport ensure this happens efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A small fraction (7-10%) of CO\u2082 dissolves directly into the plasma and contributes to the blood\u2019s partial pressure of CO\u2082. However, because CO\u2082 is more soluble than oxygen in water, this fraction plays a minor role in overall transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 20-30% of CO\u2082 binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells. This occurs at the protein portion of hemoglobin, forming carbaminohemoglobin (HbCO\u2082)<\/strong>. Importantly, this binding is reversible, allowing CO\u2082 to be released in the lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority of CO\u2082 (60-70%) is carried as bicarbonate (HCO\u2083\u207b)<\/strong>. Within RBCs, the enzyme carbonic anhydrase<\/strong> facilitates the reaction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bicarbonate diffuses out into the plasma, and to maintain electrical neutrality, chloride ions (Cl\u207b) enter the RBCs in exchange. This is known as the chloride shift<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the lungs, the process reverses: bicarbonate re-enters RBCs, reforms CO\u2082, and is exhaled. This system efficiently maintains acid-base balance and facilitates CO\u2082 removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Image of CO\u2082 Transport in Blood<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How is CO2 transported in blood? The correct answer and explanation is : How is CO\u2082 Transported in Blood? Carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) is transported in the blood through three primary mechanisms: Explanation (300 words) Carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) is a metabolic waste product produced by cells during aerobic respiration. Once formed, it must be efficiently transported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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