Page 94 - The Cell in 40 Topics
P. 94
The Cell in 40 Topics
immediate surroundings. This phenomenon can be summarized thus:
The carbon dioxide produced by cell respiration passes from the cell
to the tissue fluid, and from there to the capillary vessels. Part of the carbon
dioxide combines with the hemoglobin in the erythrocytes and is trans-
ported away in the form of carbamino hemoglobin. The other part combines
with water, under the influence of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, to form
carbonic acid, which later separates into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions.
The emerging hydrogen ion is caught by the hemoglobin (Figure 74).
Figure 74.
The hydrogen ion
released is held
by the hemoglo-
bin molecule, and
carbon dioxide is
thus brought to
the lungs by way
of the veins.
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