2:NOTE ON RED BLOOD CELL ON HIGH ALTITUDE In a the normal circulatory system; blood, heart and blood vessels

looks like this;

How does blood transport oxygen to the cells of the body? 1-As blood passes through the lungs, oxygen diffuses from the alveoli into the blood. 2-Haemoglobin has a great affinity for oxygen, that is haemoglobin combines reversibly with oxygen. Haemoglobin combines with oxygen to form an unstable compound called oxyhaemoglobin. 3-Oxyhaemoglobin releases its oxygen through the tissues.

+ O2

Haemoglobin (purplish red)

-O2

Oxyhaemoglobin (Bright red)

In Haemoglobin -Low oxygen but high carbon dioxide concentration. In Oxyhaemoglobin -High Oxygen but low carbon dioxide concentration. Acclimatization to Altitude The human body can adapt to high altitude through immediate and long-term acclimatization. At high altitude, in the short term, the lack of oxygen is sensed by the carotid body, which causes an increase in the breathing rate (hyperventilation).

Carotid bodies are supporting cells located in carotid artery. Carotid artery is an artery which is connected to transport blood to the neck and brain. There are two types of carotid are artery: 1.External carotid artery - is a major of the head and neck, it arise from the command carotid artery when it bifurcates into the external and internal carotid artery 2.Internal carotid artery - are major artery of the head and neck that supply blood to the brain People living at high altitudes have rosy cheeks because their bodies produces more red blood cells

How do human beings adapt to living at high altitudes? At high altitudes, the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is low. The Body cannot absorb sufficient oxygen to maintain its metabolic rate. Hence, the body begins to produce more red blood cells to compensate for the lower concentration of oxygen, this is called a acclimatization. Increasing the haemoglobin content per unit volume of blood. This means that more oxygen can be transported to the tissue cells per unit time. Thus, people living at high altitudes usually have larger number of red blood cells in their bodies.

The process of acclimatization explains why many long-distance runners often train at high altitudes for several months before a big race. Such training increases the amount of haemoglobin in their blood. Hence, when they run the race at a lower altitude, their bodies are able to carry oxygen more efficiently, which means that they can run for longer distance.

Information from the web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude#High_altitude_and_low_air_pressure Effects of high altitude on human http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_sickness Altitude sickness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathing_gas#Partial_pressure_of_oxygen Partial pressure of oxygen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_acclimatization#Acclimatization_to_altitude Acclimatization to altitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acclimatization Acclimatization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotid_bodies Carotid bodies Pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotid_artery Carotid artery Pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carotid_artery Common carotid artery Pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_carotid_artery External carotid artery Pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_carotid_artery Internal carotid artery Pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain Brain (pictures) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperventilation Hyperventilation Information from the books: G.C.E. OLevel Biology Matters Written by Lam Peng Kwan and Eric K Lam Longman OLevel Science Biology Written by Kunnath V Satheesan Comprehensive Biology For OLevel Science Written by Lam Peng Kwan