Is it true that blood is blue, but it always appears red to us, as it turns red upon exposure to oxygen?
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ANSWERS: 9
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No that's a common misconception
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It always looked darker to me before it got exposure to oxygen. But I guess I could be wrong, for I am not a pro at this kind of stuff.........+5 for your question tho.
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blood is never blue. in arteries, after being oxygenated through the lungs, it is a bright red. the iron in the hemoglobin binds with the oxygen making iron-oxide (rust). the blood in veins, after it has dropped off its load of oxygen to the cells, is a deeper red. it is the veins themselves that look blue-ish through the skin.
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No, human blood is not blue. You've been listening to those rich people again.:)
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no our blood is always red.:-)+
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That's what I've heard!
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Yep. Look at your veins. Oxygen makes it red.
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when blood cells have oxygen in them, they are red. when they do not, they are blue.
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Not exactly. The iron in the blood is what gives it it's characteristic color. The color depends upon the state of the hemoglobin: If it's combined with oxygen, it's a scarlet color. When the oxygen has been released, it's a darker color which APPEARS BLUISH THROUGH THE VESSEL WALLS AND SKIN. It is still red...just much darker. An interesting side note here on blood color, if you're interested: The hemoglobin, which contains iron, is what gives our blood its red color. However, there are creatures on this planet which have blood based on hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin. Hemocyanin contains copper instead of iron and this gives their blood a GREEN color instead of red. Most molluscs and some arthropods (like the horseshoe crab) have blood based on hemocyanin. Creatures with hemocyanin based blood live in COLD environments with LOW oxygen pressure. These conditions make hemocyanin based blood more efficient at transporting oxygen than hemoglobin. So Star Trek's Mr. Spock isn't the only creature with green, copper based blood!
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