Deoxyhemoglobin is best described as hemoglobin with iron not bound to which gas?

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Multiple Choice

Deoxyhemoglobin is best described as hemoglobin with iron not bound to which gas?

Deoxyhemoglobin means hemoglobin that has released its bound oxygen. In the lungs, iron in the heme binds oxygen to form oxyhemoglobin; as blood reaches tissues, oxygen is released and the iron is no longer bound to oxygen, producing deoxyhemoglobin. Nitrogen and helium don’t bind to the iron in hemoglobin, and carbon dioxide is carried mainly by other means (bicarbonate or binding to the globin, not the iron). So the gas not bound to the iron in deoxyhemoglobin is oxygen.

Deoxyhemoglobin means hemoglobin that has released its bound oxygen. In the lungs, iron in the heme binds oxygen to form oxyhemoglobin; as blood reaches tissues, oxygen is released and the iron is no longer bound to oxygen, producing deoxyhemoglobin. Nitrogen and helium don’t bind to the iron in hemoglobin, and carbon dioxide is carried mainly by other means (bicarbonate or binding to the globin, not the iron). So the gas not bound to the iron in deoxyhemoglobin is oxygen.

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