Bohr effect

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Bohr effect A decrease in the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen and a shift of the oxygen-dissociation curve to the right, brought about either by a decrease in pH or by an increase in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, such that a high concentration of carbon dioxide causes more oxygen to be given up at any given oxygen pressure (e.g. in the tissues). It is an important mechanism in the release of oxygen by haemoglobin in the blood in respiratory tissues, where the partial pressures of carbon dioxide are high.

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