CHANGES IN AIR AND BLOOD IN RESPIRATION. 679 



sorption coefficient. By this term is meant the number that ex- 

 presses the proportion of gas dissolved in a unit volume of the liquid 

 under one atmosphere of pressure. The absorption coefficient will 

 vary, of course, with the temperature. The gases that interest us 

 in this connection are oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxid. The 

 absorption coefficients of these gases for the blood at the tempera- 

 ture of the body are as follows: O, 0.0262; N, 0.0130; CO 2 , 0.5283.* 

 That is, 1 c.c. of blood at body temperature dissolves 0.0262 of 

 1 c.c. of oxygen if exposed to an atmosphere of pure oxygen, and 

 so on. The solubility of the CO f is therefore twenty times as great 

 as that of oxygen. Accepting these figures, we may calculate how 

 much of these three gases can be held in the arterial blood in physical 

 solution, provided we know the pressure of the gases in the alveoli 

 of the lungs. The composition of the alveolar air will be discussed 

 farther on, but we may assume at present that it contains 80 per 

 cent, of nitrogen, 15 per cent, of oxygen, and 5 per cent, of carbon 

 dioxid. In 100 c.c. of blood, therefore, the following amounts of 

 these gases should be held in solution: 



Nitrogen 100X0.013 X 0.80 = 1.04 c.c. 



Oxygen 100 X 0.0262 X 0.15 = 0.393 " 



Carbon dioxid 100 X 0.5283 X 0.05 = 2.64 " 



As will be seen from the analyses given above of the actual amounts 

 of these gases obtained from the blood, the nitrogen alone is present 

 in quantities corresponding to what would be expected if it is 

 held in simple physical solution. 



The Tension or Pressure of Gases in Solution or Combi- 

 nation. When a gas is held in solution the equilibrium is de- 

 stroyed if the pressure of this gas in the surrounding medium or 

 atmosphere is changed. If this pressure is increased the liquid 

 takes up more of the gas, and an equilibrium is established at a 

 higher level. If the pressure is decreased the liquid gives off 

 some of the gas. The pressure of the gas in the surrounding at- 

 mosphere at which equilibrium is established measures the tension 

 of the gas in the liquid at that time. Thus, when a bowl of water is 

 exposed to the air the tension of the oxygen in solution is 152 mms. 

 Hg; that of the nitrogen is 608 mms. Hg. If the same water is 

 exposed to pure oxygen the tension of the oxygen in solution is 

 equal to 760 mms. Hg, while that of the nitrogen sinks to zero if 

 the gas that is given off from the water is removed. With com- 

 pounds such as oxyhemoglobin the tension under which the oxy- 



*As given by Bohr, the absorption coefficients of these three gases 

 at 40 C. are as follows: Oxygen, 00231; nitrogen, 0.0118; carbon dioxid, 

 0.530. 



