I hope this doesn't hurt our relationship, but I just had to say that most of the blood on the inside of your body is actually blue....it's red on the outside. That means if you're seeing it you're probably injured - maybe you were attacked by a ferocious cougar. Rar! :)
I did a little research into this, because my memories of Eckberg made me think you had it right Cara-
"Human blood is red, ranging from bright red when oxygenated to dark red when not. It owes its colour to hemoglobin, a metalloprotein compound containing iron in the form of heme, to which oxygen binds. There exists a popular misconception that deoxygenated blood is blue and that blood only becomes red when it comes into contact with oxygen. Blood is never blue, but veins appear blue because light is diffused by skin. Moreover, the blood inside is dark red and exhibits poor light reflection. From a physiological perspective, veins and arteries appear similar when skin is removed and are seen directly."
However, never fear- BYU blue blood does exist! "The blood of most mollusks - including cephalopods and gastropods - as well as some arthropods, such as horseshoe crabs, is blue, as it contains the copper-containing protein hemocyanin at concentrations of about 50 grams per litre." Go Cougars? How about go Mollusks!
I hope this doesn't hurt our relationship, but I just had to say that most of the blood on the inside of your body is actually blue....it's red on the outside. That means if you're seeing it you're probably injured - maybe you were attacked by a ferocious cougar. Rar! :)
ReplyDeleteI did a little research into this, because my memories of Eckberg made me think you had it right Cara-
ReplyDelete"Human blood is red, ranging from bright red when oxygenated to dark red when not. It owes its colour to hemoglobin, a metalloprotein compound containing iron in the form of heme, to which oxygen binds. There exists a popular misconception that deoxygenated blood is blue and that blood only becomes red when it comes into contact with oxygen. Blood is never blue, but veins appear blue because light is diffused by skin. Moreover, the blood inside is dark red and exhibits poor light reflection. From a physiological perspective, veins and arteries appear similar when skin is removed and are seen directly."
However, never fear- BYU blue blood does exist!
"The blood of most mollusks - including cephalopods and gastropods - as well as some arthropods, such as horseshoe crabs, is blue, as it contains the copper-containing protein hemocyanin at concentrations of about 50 grams per litre." Go Cougars? How about go Mollusks!