Respiratory functions of blood of the yak, llama, camel, Dybowski deer, and African elephant

Abstract

Blood samples from a yak, llama, camel, deer, and African elephant were analyzed for oxygen capacity, "standard bicarbonate" content, oxygen dissociation curve, and the magnitude of the Bohr and Haldane effects. These parameters of the respiratory function of the blood have been related to the morphology of the red cells, to the weights of the animals, and to the most important electrolytes in the erythrocytes and in the plasma. The high affinity for oxygen described previously for llama blood is shared by its relative, the camel. Both these animals have a high concentration of hemoglobin within their erythrocytes. Blood from the African elephant showed the greatest affinity for oxygen among the subjects studied.