The majority of carbon dioxide produced by our body cells is transported to the lungs -
A
Dissolved in the blood
B
As bicarbonates
C
As carbonates
D
Attached to hemoglobin
The answer is B.
Solution
$CO_2$ is carried by the blood in three forms. About 70 percent is carried as bicarbonate. About 20 to 25 percent is carried by haemoglobin as carbamino-haemoglobin. About 7 percent is carried in a dissolved state in the plasma. At the tissues, $CO_2$ diffuses into the red blood cells, where the enzyme carbonic anhydrase catalyses the reaction $CO_2 + H_2O \rightleftharpoons H_2CO_3 \rightleftharpoons HCO_3^- + H^+$ In the alveoli, where the partial pressure of $CO_2$ is low, the reaction proceeds in the opposite direction and $CO_2$ is released. So the majority of the carbon dioxide is transported as bicarbonates.
ConceptForms of carbon dioxide transport
Transport of carbon dioxide in past papers
2 questions from this chapter have appeared across 2 exam years.