Red blood cell oxygen has been released the resulting deoxyhemoglobin is of a dark red burgundy color. However, blood can appear bluish when seen through the vessel wall and skin. Pulse oximetry takes advantage of the hemoglobin color change to directly measure the arterial blood oxygen saturation using colorimetric techniques. Hemoglobin also has a very high affinity for carbon monoxide, forming carboxyhemoglobin which is a very bright red in color. Flushed, confused patients with a saturation reading of 100% on pulse oximetry are sometimes found to be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Having oxygen-carrying proteins inside specialized cells (as opposed to oxygen carriers
Hemoglobin electrophoresis Hemoglobin electrophoresis Hemoglobin electrophoresis is a blood test that can detect different types of hemoglobin. It uses the principles of gel electrophoresis to separate out the various types of hemoglobin and is a type of native gel electrophoresis. The test can detect abnormal levels of HbS, the form associated with sickle-cell disease, as well as other abnormal hemoglobin-related blood disorders, such as beta thalassaemia and hemoglobin C. It can also be used to determine whether there is a deficiency of any normal form of hemoglobin, as in the group of diseases known as thalassemias. Different hemoglobins have different charges, and