Question

Explain how someone with carbon monoxide poison can have the same partial pressures of oxygen dissolved in their blood as a normal person, yet they are suffering from toxicity of carbon monoxide poisoning. Max 3 sentences.

Please answer in Max of three sentences.

Answer 1

poisoning due to carbon monoxide takes place as CO binds with hemoglobin in blood and forms carboxyhemoglobin which result in inhibited blood to from carrying oxygen. Now, in situation of CO poisoning, the partial pressure of oxygen dissolved in blood remains same for both normal person and person who are suffering . This is due to the fact that a relatively lower amount of CO is required for poisoning and it does not change the oxygen amount which is dissolved in the blood giving same pO2 for both normal and the CO poisoning affected individual.