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Theme B - Form & Function

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Theme C - Interaction &  Interdependence

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Theme D - Continuity & Change

🎈 Imagine your lungs as a busy airport, and oxygen as passengers. The haemoglobin in your blood? That&#39;s the airport shuttle! But how do we know how many passengers (oxygen) are on board? Enter: Oxygen dissociation curve

<ul>
	<li>What it shows?
	<ul>
		<li>The percentage of oxygen that&#39;s bound to haemoglobin at different oxygen concentrations.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Think of it as a graph plotting how eagerly haemoglobin picks up oxygen!</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Normal atmospheric pressure is like the pressure inside a basketball: 101.3kPa.</li>
	<li>Given 21% of air is oxygen, the oxygen&#39;s partial pressure is 21.2kPa.</li>
	<li>Inside our lungs (alveoli), it&#39;s less busy &ndash; so the curve generally ranges from 0kPa to 15kPa.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>The curve&#39;s shape? It&#39;s a sigmoid or an &#39;S&#39;.</li>
	<li>Reason? Cooperative binding. Imagine a group dance. The first person (oxygen) to start dancing (bind) encourages others to join in, making the dance (binding) more intense!</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Foetal Haemoglobin:
	<ul>
		<li>Curve Position: More to the left than adults.</li>
		<li>What it Means: Babies&#39; haemoglobin has a stronger liking (affinity) for oxygen than adults. So, like someone who hoards chocolates, baby haemoglobin grabs more oxygen even when there&#39;s less around.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Adult Haemoglobin:
	<ul>
		<li>The typical S-shaped curve we&#39;ve been discussing.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

Imagine two siblings &ndash; a baby and an older teen. If oxygen were chocolates, the baby&#39;s grabbing them quicker and in larger amounts even before the older sibling can reach!

<ul>
	<li>What&#39;s happening?
	<ul>
		<li>Increasing carbon dioxide levels pushes the curve to the right.</li>
		<li>Result? Haemoglobin&#39;s not so keen on holding onto oxygen anymore.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Real-life Scenario:
	<ul>
		<li>It&#39;s like when it&#39;s too hot (more CO2), you (haemoglobin) drop your hot coffee (oxygen) quicker!</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Name of the Phenomenon: Bohr Shift.
	<ul>
		<li>This means, with more CO2 around, haemoglobin releases more oxygen even at the same oxygen levels.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Check out Section B3.1.12 to dive deeper into the Bohr Shift!</li>
</ul>

✨ Recap &amp; Fun Fact: Oxygen dissociation curves tell us how much oxygen haemoglobin holds on to, based on the oxygen around. Babies are like chocolate hoarders, grabbing more oxygen than adults, and when there&#39;s too much CO2, haemoglobin gets clumsy and drops its oxygen!

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Happy Breathing and Studying! 😄

Theme B - Form & Function

Unlock Oxygen-Haemoglobin Secrets!

Table of content

Oxygen dissociation curves - the basics 📊

Real-world setting 🌎

Why is it s-shaped?

Unlock the Full Content!

Theme B - Form & Function

Unlock Oxygen-Haemoglobin Secrets!

Table of content

Oxygen dissociation curves - the basics 📊

Real-world setting 🌎

Why is it s-shaped?

Unlock the Full Content!