18 



Chapter II 



is but one active substance, namely oxyhaemoglobin ; let its con- 

 centration be C a , then the velocity of the reaction is k', another 

 constant, multiplied by CH- Taking the two together, we have 





The concentration of oxygen as we have already stated is p x - , 



where p is the oxygen pressure to which the solution is subjected 

 and a the coefficient of solubility, therefore 



replacing all the constants by one constant K, 



KpC R = C H . 



FIG. 8. Rectangular hyperbola. The products of x and ?/, such as x 1 y 1 , x<,y. 2 for 



all points are equal. 



If the concentrations of oxy- and reduced haemoglobin are re- 

 garded as percentages of the total concentration of haemoglobin, 

 then C a =-- 100 - C R , 



KpC R =IOO-C R , 



C R 100 



100 



