Carboxyhemoglobin and the Access to Oxygen

Abstract

Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) alters the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve in such a manner that oxygen is released to the tissues with great difficulty and at a lower oxygen tension. The known effects on heart and brain of breathing .Sow concentrations of carbon monoxide are primarily related to this leftward shift and perhaps also to combination with myoglobin and certain iron-containing enzymes. Hemoglobin-oxygen equilibria in the presence of COHb resembles the equilibria of more primitive forms of hemoglobin and gives rise to the suggestion that this decrease in the access to oxygen is a form of counterevolution.