Influence of red cell membrane on diffusion of oxygen

¹ Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire

Experiments in vitro were conducted on human blood at 37°C. Centrifuged blood samples were divided into packed red cells and three kinds of hemoglobin solution of equal concentration with the hemolysis effected by freezing and thawing, distilled water and ether. Since the four media had the same hemoglobin concentration, the conditions for the propagation of oxygen were substantially identical, with the only difference that the oxygen had to cross the barrier of the red cell membranes in the case of the cells. All media were analyzed with the thin-layer technique. Light transmission changes resulting from the uptake of pure oxygen by the reduced media were continuously recorded. From such tracings, the one-third and one-half saturation times were evaluated and compared. No significant difference was found between any of the highly concentrated hemoglobin solutions and the packed red cell suspensions. It was concluded that the red cell membrane does not seem to represent an essential impediment to the propagation of oxygen under these circumstances.

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