Dr. Tsotakos’ tennis team made it to the national tournament…
Dr. Tsotakos’ tennis team made it to the national tournament, held in Denver, CO (elevation 1,609m). When Dr. T got there, he quickly found out that he ran out of breath very quickly. Unsurprisingly his first opponents, a team from neighboring Boulder, CO, did not look winded at all. So, Dr. T, instead of focusing on tennis started thinking “I wonder what the fractional saturation of their hemoglobin is?”. Assuming that the opponents’ hemoglobin has a Hill coefficient = 3, and a P50 =31 mm Hg, calculate the change in fractional O2 saturation of the hemoglobin going from their lungs (where P02 = 85 mm Hg) to their capillaries when exercising (where PO2 = 15 mm Hg). PS: Dr. T and his partner lost their doubles match 6-4, 6-2.