• Question: Why is blood red?

    Asked by Zealousy to Josh on 22 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Josh Meyers

      Josh Meyers answered on 22 Jun 2015:

      The red colouring comes from the protein ‘haemoglobin’ in your red blood cells. This is a protein with an iron metal at the centre of it. When the iron is oxygenated, it is coloured red. It then delivers this oxygen to tissues in the body. When the iron is deoxygenated, it is coloured blue. This is why your veins are blue!

      So it is the metal in your blood that causes it to be coloured.

Comments