Why haemoglobin is red

The average adult male has about 1, mg of stored iron enough for about three years , whereas women on average have only about mg enough for about six months. When iron intake is chronically low, stores can become depleted, decreasing hemoglobin levels. When iron stores are exhausted, the condition is called iron depletion.

Further decreases may be called iron-deficient erythropoiesis and still further decreases produce iron deficiency anemia. Blood loss is the most common cause of iron deficiency. In men and postmenopausal women, iron deficiency is almost always the result of gastrointestinal blood loss. In menstruating women, genitourinary blood loss often accounts for increased iron requirements.

Oral contraceptives tend to decrease menstrual blood loss, whereas intrauterine devices tend to increase menstrual bleeding. Other causes of genitourinary bleeding and respiratory tract bleeding also increase iron requirements. For blood donors, each donation results in the loss of to mg of iron. During periods of growth in infancy, childhood and adolescence, iron requirements may outstrip the supply of iron from diet and stores. Iron loss from tissue growth during pregnancy and from bleeding during delivery and post partum averages mg.

Breastfeeding increases iron requirements by about 0. When the iron is deoxygenated, it becomes darker red. Blood is red because of the hemoglobin inside our red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a protein that forms a complex with iron molecules and together they transport oxygen molecules throughout the body. Iron has the property of reflecting red light and because there is so much iron in our blood, blood looks red.

When hemoglobin is carrying a lot of oxygen like when just leaving the lungs , blood is bright red. When most of the oxygen has been released to the body, blood is dark red. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, blood is never blue. Veins under light colored skin only look blue because the skin changes the optical properties of the light that passes through the skin.

Now, our blood looks bright red as it is being pumped away from the lungs to the tissues in our body. Luckily, oxygen binding is reversible, which means that oxygen taken up in the lungs is released in the tissues as the blood circulates around the body. When the oxygen is released, it is replaced by carbon dioxide, which is then taken back to our lungs and expelled from our bodies as we breathe. When carbon dioxide binds to hemoglobin, the color changes from bright red to dark red with a hint of purple.

But why do our veins look blue? The blue color that we see with our eyes is a combination of the blood, the vessel, the skin, and the process that allows us to see color. What are red blood cell disorders? Read on to learn more about these conditions, including the different types and examples of RBC disorders. White blood cells fight infection. If someone has too many white blood cells, they may have an underlying condition, such as an infection or cancer…. For some types of blood tests, a person may need to fast beforehand.

In this article, learn about fasting for blood tests. Troponin levels in the blood are usually very low and only increase if the heart becomes damaged.

Very high levels usually indicate that a person has…. What are coagulation disorders?