Carbon dioxide dissociation and buffering in chicken blood during development.

Carbon dioxide dissociation curves of oxygenated and deoxygenated bloods, the Haldane effect, the buffer value and other blood and true plasma buffering indices, O2 capacity and hematocrit were determined in bloods withdrawn from chicks before, during and after hatching and 8-month-old hens. Blood CO2 dissociation curves shifted upwards in the developing embryo till pipping, and moved downwards after pipping and hatching. In accordance with the position of the CO2 dissociation curves, the true plasma bicarbonate and red cell CO2 standardized to PCO2 = 40 torr changed. The Haldane factor at standard PCO2 increased from 0.12-0.13 on days 10-14 of incubation to 0.34 in young hens. The buffering power changed in parallel with O2 capacity and hematocrit, increasing steadily during incubation, dropping at hatching and then increasing again to the adult value. The observed changes in the CO2 dissociation curves and buffering variables during the development enable the chick to minimize the changes in the acid-base status and are favorable for coping with the increasing demand for CO2 transport and buffering of the developing bird.