Printed in Great Britain AN ELECTROLYTIC METHOD FOR DETERMINING OXYGEN DISSOCIATION CURVES USING SMALL BLOOD SAMPLES: THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

1. A detailed account is given of an electrolytic method for determining the oxygen dissociation curve of fish blood using a single sample of 50-100 fd for the whole curve. The accuracy and some of the problems arising from its uses are discussed. 2. Oxygen dissociation curves have been determined for trout blood and human blood at temperatures of 15 and 37 °C. The relationship between PM and temperature is similar to that obtained using other methods. Absolute values of PM are generally lower than those obtained by other methods, especially in the case of fish blood. 3. The effect of Pc0 % and pH on the oxygen dissociation curve of trout blood is tested and it is shown that POOi has a more marked effect than pH when the other factor is maintained at a constant level. The Bohr factor (A log PM/A pH) appears to be approximately the same and independent of the Pco,. 4. The PM of ray blood determined from fish during and after an operation showed an increased Bohr factor