Bohr Effect Lab

1147 Words3 Pages

Equlibria in the human body
The human body is an extremely complex organism involving a multitude of systems all working to maintain the efficient functioning of the body. Humans are extremely precarious when it comes to the pH of their environment. Even the slightest change in pH can cause life threatening illnesses. The human body retains its pH at approximately 7.4. Issues occur when the pH of the blood falls below 7.0 or surpasses 7.8. There are 3 lines of defence in place to counter any changes in pH in the body. The blood buffers take effect immediately, followed by the control of gas exchange in the respiratory system and if not solved, renal excretion takes place. Renal excretion is not covered since it does not involve equilibrium, …show more content…

The “Bohr effect” helps illustrate the effect of pH in the equilibrium position of equation 4. Danish Physiologist, Christian Bohr states that:
Haemoglobin's oxygen binding is inversely related both to acidity and to the concentration of carbon dioxide.
Bohr summarises that an increase in pH will cause a left shift to the curve and a decrease in pH will cause a right shift to the curve. These effects are demonstrated in figure 2.1. Figure 2.1 also compares the solubility of O2 at different pH. The carbon dioxide concentration at the lungs is low due to the release of CO2 from the blood. The low concentration of CO2 hence increases the pH and causes a left shift in the curve, which also allows for a higher amount of O2 to be present in the blood. In muscle tissue, more CO2 is emitted into the bloodstream since all body tissue produces CO2. An increase in CO2 will cause an increase in the amount of carbonic acid due to Le Châtelier’s principles on equation 3. This will in turn decrease the pH and shift the curve to the right. The effects of temperature are similar. An increase in temperature, caused by an illness, will cause a right shift to the curve and a decrease in temperature will cause a left shift to the

Open Document