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CARBON MONOOXIDE AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Citation:
Raub, J. A. AND V A. Benignus. CARBON MONOOXIDE AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. Pergamon (ed.), NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 26:925-940, (2002).
Description:
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, tasteless, odorless, and non-irriating gas formed when carbon fuel is not burned completely. It enter the bloodstream through the lungs and attaches to hemoglobin (Hb), the body's oxygen carrier, forming carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and thereby reducing oxygen (O2) delivery to the body's organs and tissues. High COHb concentrations are poisonous. Central nervous system (CNS) efffect in individuals suffering acute CO poisoning cover a wide ranng, depending on severity of exposure: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, confusion, collapse, and coma.