Shaunesha

Respiratory pigments combines with the oxygen in the blood and increases the capacity of blood to transport it more effciently. The respiratory pigments are colorless without the oxygen. Hemoglobin and myoglobin are the most common respiratory pigments in animals. Myoglobin is found in the muscle fibers, its just another form of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the only type of respiratory pigment in vertebrates, it also appears in some invertebrates. It is found in the plasma instead of confined to blood cells. Hemoglobin consists on iron-porphyrin, heme, or proteins better known as globin. Oxygenated blood combined with the hemoglobin takes on a red color. This is the blood that comes from the lungs and pumped through the left atria and ventricle to the rest of the body, where the oxygen is utilized. When all of the oxygen in the blood is used and is deoxygenated it appears really dark red, almost purple (which gives our veins the bluish color). Then that deoxygenated blood travels back to the heart (in a cycle). Hemoglobin transports 97% of the the blood's oxygen, the rest is dissolved int the plasma. In the gills or lungs, oxygen and red <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-decoration: line-through;">blood cells diffuse and combine with hemoglobin and <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">oxyhemoglobin is formed. Its greatest concentration in the pulmonary capillaries. Carbon dioxide is transported by the hemoglobin molecule also. It attaches at a different site and in a different fashion than the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">oxygen does.

Q: 4 Review Questions pf 987

What is the function of respiratory pigements? How do they work?