ELi5: why is fresh blood bright red and dry blood dark red?
In: Biology
Simply put your blood contains many proteins. One important brotein in red blood cells is hemoglobin which carries oxygen. Hemoglobin contains iron and so if you think about something like iron rust, the reason why blood is reddish becomes apparent. Some other of these proteins are responsible for blood clotting. Essentially dry blood is an amalgamation of dead cells and fibrin (a protein that is responsible for clotting). Now because all of this is exposed to oxygen directly, some oxidation will occur and turn this entire mass a slightly darker colour.
Blood with lots of oxygen is bright red, however blood with less oxygen turns a browny colour
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