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What is the Oxygen Hemoglobin Dissociation Curve? – Video
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Video at a Glance
- On the oxygen hemoglobin dissociation curve, the higher the partial pressure of oxygen, the higher the percentage of oxygen saturation.
- A right shift moves the midpoint in the curve to the right, which means body conditions are causing oxygen and hemoglobin to more loosely bind.
- The four factors which cause a looser bind are increased acid or hydrogen ion concentration, increased carbon dioxide concentration, increased temperature, and increased BPG.
- A left shift moves the midpoint to the left, meaning the oxygen and hemoglobin are more tightly bound.
- A tighter bind is due to decreased acid, decreased carbon dioxide concentration, decreased temperature, or decreased BPG, and tighter binds may happen during alkalosis.
- BPG stands for a chemical named bisphosphoglyceric acid. Our red blood cells synthesize it, and the more BPG, the looser the hemoglobin-oxygen bond.
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