Question

Does carbon monoxide has greater affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen

Answer 1

Answer:

I recently learned about the concept of "affinity" in regards to hemoglobin. For hemoglobin in humans, carbon dioxide has a lower affinity than oxygen, which allows gas exchange to occur in our lungs.

But

Carbon monoxide is problematic for us because it has an even higher affinity to hemoglobin than oxygen does. This means that our red blood cells will not exchange carbon monoxide for oxygen in our lungs.