Blood gas tension Blood gas tension Blood gas tension refers to the partial pressure of gases in blood. There are several significant purposes for measuring gas tension; the most common gas tensions measured are oxygen tension (PO), the carbon dioxide tension (PCO) and carbon monoxide tension (PCO). The subscript "x" in each symbol represents the source of the gas being measured; ""a"" meaning arterial, ""A"" being alveolar, ""v"" being venous, ""c"" being capillary. Blood gas tests (such as arterial blood gas tests) measure these partial pressures. PO – Partial pressure of oxygen at sea level (765 mmHg) in arterial blood is between 75
Hemoglobin reversibly to a specific cysteine residue in globin; the binding depends on the state (R or T) of the hemoglobin. The resulting S-nitrosylated hemoglobin influences various NO-related activities such as the control of vascular resistance, blood pressure and respiration. NO is not released in the cytoplasm of red blood cells but transported out of them by an anion exchanger called AE1. Hemoglobin variants are a part of the normal embryonic and fetal development. They may also be pathologic mutant forms of hemoglobin in a population, caused by variations in genetics. Some well-known hemoglobin variants, such as sickle-cell anemia, are responsible