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Tutorial:How do we get the oxygen we breathe

by Jaime Prilusky

When we breathe, or respire, oxygen from the air is taken up by blood in our lungs and soon delivered to each of the cells in our body through our circulatory system. Among other uses, our cells use oxygen as the final electron acceptor in a process called aerobic respiration -- a process that converts the energy in food and nutrients into a form of energy that the cell can readily use (molecules of ATP, adenosine triphosphate). The cells of large organisms like humans use aerobic respiration because other forms of energy production are less efficient, and oxygen is plentiful. (THINK: Do fish use aerobic respiration?) But, although oxygen is transported in our blood to reach each of the cells in our body, oxygen does not dissolve well in blood. So how is oxygen transported in the blood?. (more...)

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