AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Blood doping involves the misuse of certain techniques and/or substances like EPO to increase one’s red blood cell mass, which allows the body to transport more oxygen to muscles and therefore increase stamina and performance.

Detailed explanation-2: -Blood doping can improve an athlete’s ability to perform submaximal and maximal endurance exercise. In addition, blood doping can help reduce physiologic strain during exercise in the heat and perhaps at altitude.

Detailed explanation-3: -The main function of red blood cells in exercise is the transport of O2 from the lungs to the tissues and the delivery of metabolically produced CO2 to the lungs for expiration.

Detailed explanation-4: -A high red blood cell volume facilitates a high oxygen transport to the active skeletal muscles by facilitating a high cardiac output. Higher volume of red blood cells equals higher athletic performance. Consequently, improvement of hemoglobin mass has such a prominent role in the training of high-performance athletes.

Detailed explanation-5: -In many cases, blood doping increases the amount of hemoglobin in the bloodstream. Hemoglobin is an oxygen-carrying protein in the blood. So increasing hemoglobin allows higher amounts of oxygen to reach and fuel an athlete’s muscles.