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 in the blood is increased, which allows these individuals to deliver a larger amount of oxygen to tissues under conditions of lower oxygen tension. This phenomenon, where molecule Y affects the binding of molecule X to a transport molecule Z, is called a "heterotropic" allosteric effect. Hemoglobin in organisms at high altitudes has also adapted such that it has less of an affinity for 2,3-BPG and so the protein will be shifted more towards its R state. In its R state, hemoglobin will bind oxygen more readily, thus allowing organisms to perform the necessary metabolic processes when oxygen is present