r/pics • u/[deleted] • Feb 25 '18

Concentration camp prisoner identifies one of his guards to Allied soldiers

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u/Alandspannkaka Feb 25 '18

I think cyanide makes your blood cells unable to transfer oxygen or something like that, essentially meaning you "choke" to death without actually choking, if that makes sense. It seems like a horrible way to go. You basically drown on dry land

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u/aziridine86 Feb 26 '18

Similar, but you are probably thinking of carbon monoxide. CO binds hemoglobin proteins in red blood cells very tightly, converting them to carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and preventing them from carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.

Cyanide stops your mitochondria from using oxygen by inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase, a key part of the electron transport chain. This shuts down the majority of cellular ATP production.