What protein carries oxygen in red blood cells and aids in transporting it to body tissues?

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The protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells is hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a complex protein made of four polypeptide chains, each containing a heme group that binds to oxygen. When red blood cells travel through the lungs, hemoglobin binds to oxygen molecules, allowing it to be transported throughout the bloodstream to various tissues and organs in the body. This oxygen transport is essential for cellular respiration, which produces energy needed for various biological functions.

In contrast, myoglobin, while also an oxygen-binding protein, is primarily found in muscle tissues and serves to store oxygen rather than transport it through the bloodstream. Albumin is a protein found in blood plasma that primarily helps maintain osmotic pressure and transport various substances, but it does not carry oxygen. Fibrinogen, on the other hand, is a protein critical for blood clotting, facilitating the formation of fibrin that helps stop bleeding, and does not have a role in oxygen transport. Hence, hemoglobin is distinctly recognized for its chief role in facilitating oxygen transport in the red blood cells.

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