Question

The process by which chloride ions pass into RBC’S and bicarbonate ions pass out is called as
A. Bicarbonate shift
B. Chloride shift
C. Buffer system
D. Enzyme shift

Answer 1

Hint: Chloride shift generally means ‘exchange’. It is an exchange of bicarbonate and chloride across the membrane of red blood cells.

Step by step answer:
Chloride shift is a process where chloride (Cl-) ions pass into RBC’s and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ions pass out. It is also known as the hamburger phenomenon. In the process of normal metabolism, CO2 is produced in tissues as a byproduct. It dissolves into RBC, where catalyzation of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid takes place with the help of carbonic anhydrase. To form bicarbonate and hydrogen ions, carbonic acid spontaneously dissociates itself.
Charged ions (hydrogen ion and bicarbonate ion) are generally impermeable to the cell membrane, but with the help of anion exchanger protein RBCs exchange bicarbonate for chloride ion.
The buffer action of deoxygenated hemoglobin causes the rise in intracellular bicarbonate which leads bicarbonate ions to go out and chloride to go inside RBC.

So, the answer is B, i.e., Chloride shift

Additional information:
Due to chloride shit, the haemoglobin with slight intracellular osmolarity reduces, and H₂O increases. This leads the cell to swell increasing the mean corpuscular volume.
Chloride shift has significant effects on the organism-
-It helps in the carbon dioxide carrying capacity of venous blood.
-It mitigates the change in pH.

Note: In the pulmonary capillaries reverse events take place where oxygen enters the blood, which leads to the release of protons. The reverse effect leads to the Haldane effect. The Haldane effect describes the effect of oxygen on carbon dioxide transport. It describes how oxygen concentrations determine haemoglobin’s affinity for carbon dioxide.