How
does oxygen exchanges between maternal and fetal blood in a pregnant women?
In
a pregnant women, the oxygen supply for fetus is provided by the maternal blood
in the placenta where the blood vessels of both mother and fetus are in close
proximity. Both fetal and maternal hemoglobin binds to oxygen reversibly as
follows.
Hb(mother)
+ O2 ⇌ HbO2 (mother)
Hb(fetus)
+ O2 ⇌ HbO2 (Fetus)
In
the above two equilibriums, the equilibrium constant value for the oxygenation
of fetal hemoglobin is higher, which is due to its higher affinity for oxygen
compared to the adult hemoglobin. Hence in placenta, the oxygen from the
mother's blood is effectively transferred to the fetal hemoglobin.
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