Abstract
It is known that the affinity of hemoglobin for carbon monoxide varies slightly in different individuals and even more in the blood of various species. But the possibility of variations in human blood under conditions of health and disease has not received special consideration.
Bloods from normal individuals and selected hospital cases in whom the percentage of hemoglobin varied from 38 to 110 per cent. were examined.
In each case the blood was equilibrated in vitro at 20° C. with known concentrations of carbon monoxide in atmospheric air and the carbon monoxide-hemoglobin dissociation curve of the blood determined.
From the curves the oxygen-carbon monoxide affinity ratio was computed by the following formula:
The results obtained are shown in the following table. It will be noted that (I) the carbon monoxide variations in the oxygencarbon monoxide affinity ratio of all bloods examined fall between I : 254 and I : 378, and (2) these variations bear no relation to the hemoglobin percentage of the blood nor to the age and condition of the subject.
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