Oxygen production of the water molecule) is released into the atmosphere. Oxygen is used in mitochondria to generate ATP during oxidative phosphorylation. The reaction for aerobic respiration is essentially the reverse of photosynthesis and is simplified as: In vertebrates, diffuses through membranes in the lungs and into red blood cells. Hemoglobin binds , changing color from bluish red to bright red ( is released from another part of hemoglobin through the Bohr effect). Other animals use hemocyanin (molluscs and some arthropods) or hemerythrin (spiders and lobsters). A liter of blood can dissolve 200 cm of . Until the discovery of anaerobic
Red blood cell blood circulation for about 100 to 120 days (and 80 to 90 days in a full term infant). At the end of their lifespan, they are removed from circulation. In many chronic diseases, the lifespan of the red blood cells is reduced. Erythropoiesis is the process by which new red blood cells are produced; it lasts about 7 days. Through this process red blood cells are continuously produced in the red bone marrow of large bones. (In the embryo, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production.) The production can be stimulated by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO),