A 26-Year-Old Scuba Diver Returns After a Brief Dive, Complaining

Multiple Choice

A 26-year-old scuba diver returns after a brief dive, complaining of breathlessness, dizziness, and nausea.The dive shop owner quickly realizes that his assistant has equipped the diver with a CO₂ breathing tank, instead of an O₂ breathing tank.How would the rapid increase in pCO₂ concentration in the diver's lungs change the oxygen saturation curve of hemoglobin shown in Figure 3.4?

A) It shifts the maximal saturation value from 1.0 to 0.8.
B) It increases the P50 value of hemoglobin.
C) It changes the curve to a hyperbolic shape with the same P50.
D) It makes the slope of the curve steeper at the P50.
E) It has no effect on the curve shown.