HEMOGLOBIN AND IRON IN THE FETAL AND NEWBORN MAMMAL

That differences exist in the hemoglobins of the fetus and adult of various species has been known for a long time. These differences appear to be the same as those which have been described for hemoglobins of different species. Valer (1927) found that the percentage of iron in hemoglobins from different species was always constant (0.33 per cent) but stated that the percentage of sulphur varied from species to species and in dog and cat hemoglobin the sulphur content varied in hemoglobins of separate members of the same species. Amino-acid differences in human hemoglobins from different individuals were also described. Fetal and maternal hemoglobins differ in degree of resistance to acids and alkalis (Körber, 1866). Jonxis (1949) studied the denaturation rates of fetal and adult hemoglobins in buffer solutions of pH 12.7. Under these conditions, fetal hemoglobin was far more resistant than adult hemoglobin, denaturing much more slowly and the...