medium · MCAT bio-biochem

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is particularly dangerous because CO binds to hemoglobin with a much higher affinity than O_2.

If a patient is treated with 100% oxygen, which of the following best explains the therapeutic rationale?

  1. Oxygen acts as a noncompetitive inhibitor of CO, binding to an allosteric site to release the toxin.
  2. Oxygen reduces the acidity of the blood, which prevents CO from forming stable complexes.
  3. High oxygen concentrations increase the metabolic rate, allowing the body to oxidize CO into CO_2.
  4. The high partial pressure of O_2 shifts the equilibrium to displace CO from hemoglobin by mass action.

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