Carbon dioxide is hazardous to human health in high concentrations.
Carbon dioxide is an abundant gas and an important part of the Earth's atmosphere. Plants take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is what makes soda pop, beer and other carbonated beverages fizzy. The compound plays an important role in several life-sustaining processes of the human body.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is an odorless, colorless gas at room temperature. Its molecular formula is CO2 and the molecules are composed of a carbon atom covalently double-bonded to two oxygen atoms. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water and forms carbonic acid through a chemical reaction. In further reactions with water, the carbonic acid forms electrically chaged ions and cations. Gaseous carbon dioxide provides a way for the human body to transport and use the element carbon, the basis of all life on Earth.
Vasodilation
Carbon dioxide is the human body's strongest naturally occurring vasodilation agent. The chemical compound relaxes the smooth muscle tissue inside blood vessels, causing them to increase in size. The lessened vascular resistance allows greater quantities of blood to flow through veins, arteries and arterioles, reducing blood pressure. Normal levels of carbon dioxide in blood prevent excessive vasoconstriction and the resulting high blood pressure. Concentrations of arterial and venous carbon dioxide are maintained through normal breathing patterns.
Respiration
Carbon dioxide is an essential component of internal human respiration. Humans breathe in life-sustaining oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide gas is a waste product produced when cells burn oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. The nucleotide ATP is the body's primary source of metabolic cellular energy. Carbon dioxide is exchanged from blood to the lung's alveoli, or tiny air sacs by simple diffusion. The carbon dioxide is then expelled from the body by breathing out.
Blood pH Buffer
Along with dissolved carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions, arterial and venous carbon dioxide maintains the proper pH level of the blood. If the blood becomes too acidic or basic, illness or death are the results. The carbonate buffer system, with carbon dioxide as a primary component, raises or lowers the blood's pH to a state of equilibrium by neutralizing basic hydroxide ions and acidic hydrogen ions. High levels of carbon dioxide lower the blood's pH, while lower concentrations raise the pH.
Tags: carbonic acid, human body, arterial venous, arterial venous carbon, blood pressure, Carbon dioxide