Hemoglobin by molecules such as carbon monoxide (for example, from tobacco smoking, exhaust gas, and incomplete combustion in furnaces). CO competes with oxygen at the heme binding site. Hemoglobin's binding affinity for CO is 250 times greater than its affinity for oxygen, meaning that small amounts of CO dramatically reduce hemoglobin's ability to transport oxygen. Since carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, and poses a potentially fatal threat, carbon monoxide detectors have become commercially available to warn of dangerous levels in residences. When hemoglobin combines with CO, it forms a very bright red compound called carboxyhemoglobin, which may
Blood–gas partition coefficient (lipid) tissues of the brain where it can exert its effect. The potency of an anesthetic is associated with its lipid solubility which is measured by its oil/gas partition coefficient. Minimum Alveolar Concentration (MAC) is defined as the alveolar concentration of anesthetic gas that prevents a movement response in half of subjects undergoing a painful (surgical) stimulus; simplified, it is the exhaled gas concentration required to produce anaesthetic effects - an inverse indicator of anesthetic gas potency. Partition coefficients at 37 °C. Blood–gas partition coefficient Blood–gas partition coefficient, also known as Ostwald coefficient for blood–gas, is a term used in