Hello, my question states: Which of the following would be expected to cause a d
ID: 321093 • Letter: H
Question
Hello, my question states:
Which of the following would be expected to cause a decrease in percent saturation of hemoglobin?
a. an increase in PO2
b. A decrease in temperature
c. A decrease in blood pH
The answer is C but I am confused as to why that is. I thought it would be B, a decrease in temperature. My reasoning is that wouldn't a decrease in blood pH, actually cause the dissociation curve to shift to the Right, causing an increase in Hemoglobin saturation? And for a decrease in temperature, wouldn't that move it to the left, causing a drop in the saturation?
Explanation / Answer
The answer is c.A decrease in blood pH.
Explanation: When there is a decrease in temperature, the dissociation curve will shift to the left which means that there will occur a higher oxygen affinity of hemoglobin whereas when there is a decrease in blood pH(acidosis) the dissociation curve will shift to right which means that there will occur lower oxygen affinity for hemoglobin.This is because due to decrease in blood pH, the carbon dioxide levels increases while oxygen levels decreases.This results in decrease in oxygen affinity of hemoglobin.This causes unloading of oxygen from hemoglobin at increased rates which will cause a decrease in percent saturation of hemoglobin.
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