What is Hemoglobin?
What is it?
Hemoglobin (Hb) is one of the major proteins found in red blood cells (RBCs) and is responsible for making your blood red. Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen (O2) throughout your body as well as bringing carbon dioxide (CO2) back to your lungs. Hemoglobin kind of acts like a School bus - picking up the little oxygen students from school (Your lungs) and delivering all of them safely to their homes (or the rest of your body)
The structure of hemoglobin sort of resembles a cute little butterfly. This shape is important because it allows RBCs to maintain their structural integrity. If this Hb becomes misshaped it can cause problems like Sickle Cell Disease. So, each of the little wings of Hemoglobin are coated with iron (Fe2+) which allows hemoglobin to be really good at binding oxygen.
How Is Hb Relevant And Why Is It Used?
Hemoglobin is part of an extremely common blood test called a complete blood count, or better known as a CBC.
So, because hemoglobin is one of the major proteins located in every RBC, it allows health care providers to find out the estimated number of RBCs in your body.
This test may be done for a few reasons:
To diagnose a medical condition
To monitor an existing medical condition
Or to simply check your overall health
What Are The Normal Ranges?
They can vary slightly between the labs and hospitals that test them, but in general the "normal" range:
Men: 13.5-18 gm/dL
Women: 12-16 gm/dL
If your Hb number is too LOW it's called anemia, and conversely if this number is too HIGH it's called polycythemia. Again, anything outside of these ranges either too LOW or too HIGH can clue your clinician in on some disorder that may be occurring in your body.
