Transport of Carbon Dioxide

Made By: M. Barkatullah Shazli Teacher Incharge: Dr. Amitabh Agarwal

Roll No. 58
 Introduction

• Tissue activity produces CO2 which enters the blood due to:
1. Difference in pCO2 between arterial blood and tissues; 6mmHg.
2. CO2 has a high diffusion coefficient; 20 times more than that of O2,
making even this small pressure gradient of 6mmHg sufficient for
CO2 transport.
3. Decrease in O2 content shifts CO2 dissociation curve to the left,
causing further loading of CO2 from the tissues to the blood.
 Carriage of CO2 In Blood
• CO2 content of arterial blood is 52mL/dL and that of venous blood is 48mL/dL.
Therefore, each 100mL of arterial blood which passes through tissues picks up
4mL/dL of CO2.
• CO2 first gets accommodated in plasma; and when it becomes saturated, CO2 is
accommodated in the RBCs. Of the total 4mL/dL of CO2 transported in blood,
60%(2.4mL/dL) is transported in plasma and the remaining 40%(1.6mL/dL)
within the RBCs.
• CO2 is carried in plasma and RBCs in 3 forms:
1. In dissolved form (0.3mL/dL)
2. As carbamino compounds (0.7mL/dL)
3. As bicarbonate (3mL/dL)
Dissolved Form Carbamino Compounds Bicarbonate

In Plasma: In Plasma: In Plasma:

15-20min
CO2 + H2O H2CO3 CO2 + PrNH2 PrNHCOOH -By Phosphate Buffer
-By protein reduction

In RBCs: In RBCs: In RBCs:

CA CA
CO2 + H2O H2CO3 CO2 + HbNH2 HbNCOOH CO2 + H2O H2CO3
(Rapid Reaction)
H2CO3 H++HCO3 -
 Vehicles For CO2 Transport
• Vehicles for transport of CO2 are plasma, bicarbonate and blood.
Which vehicle is ideal for transport of CO2 can be determined by
studying the CO2 dissociation curve. Arterial Point: pCO2:40mmHg,
content: 48mL/dL
Maximum Venous Point: pCO2:60-
67mmHg, content: 60mL/dL
Venous Point: pCO2:46mmHg,
content: 52mL/dL
Haldane Effect: when hemoglobin
is oxygenated, the dissociation curve
shifts to the right i.e. blood begins to
lose some CO2 as it becomes
oxygenated. It is seen at the lung
level.
Chloride Shift or Hamburger Phenomenon
-
• As the blood passes through the capillaries, the rise in the HCO3
content of RBC is much greater than that in the plasma; approximately
70% of HCO3- formed in RBCs enters the plasma along its
concentration gradient. Therefore, electrical equilibrium is disturbed
among RBCs.
• Normally, protein anions cannot cross the cell membrane; and Na+ and
K + do not diffuse freely due to the operation of Na+- K + pump. The
electrical neutrality is maintained quickly within 1 second by diffusion
-
of Cl from plasma into RBCs.
• For each CO2 molecule added to the RBC, there is an increase of one
osmotically active particle, either an HCO3- or Cl- in the RBC.
Therefore, the RBC takes up H2O and increases in size. Thus, there are
more swollen RBCs in venous blood than in arterial blood, which
causes hematocrit of venous blood to be 3% greater than arterial blood.
In the lungs, the Cl- moves out of the RBCs and they shrink.
 Carriage of CO2 In the Lungs
• Oxygenation of hemoglobin increases the cells acidity which mobilizes
chloride shift in reverse, causing Cl- to diffuse out of the cell as KCl.
• KCl reacts with NaHCO3 in the plasma, forming NaCl and HCO3-.
• HCO3- enters the cells and forms H2CO3
• This is broken up by carbonic anhydrase into carbon dioxide and water.
• Carbon dioxide diffuses out into the plasma and is liberated through
the lungs along the pressure gradient.
Thank You