Blood gas tension constant 0.0031 represents the amount of oxygen dissolved in plasma. The dissolved-oxygen term is generally small relative to the term for hemoglobin-bound oxygen, but becomes significant at very high PO (as in a hyperbaric chamber) or in severe anemia. This is an estimation and does not account for differences in temperature, pH and concentrations of 2,3 DPG. 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
Blood hemoglobin with a much higher affinity for oxygen (hemoglobin F) to function under these conditions. CO is carried in blood in three different ways. (The exact percentages vary depending whether it is arterial or venous blood). Most of it (about 70%) is converted to bicarbonate ions by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase in the red blood cells by the reaction CO + HO → HCO → H + ; about 7% is dissolved in the plasma; and about 23% is bound to hemoglobin as carbamino compounds. Hemoglobin, the main oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells, carries both oxygen and carbon dioxide.