Enzymology, the structure and function relationship, gas-exchange physiology, and molecular genetics: as the authors point out, if you understand hemoglobin, you are well prepared to understand the march of biologic research. If you read this book you will understand hemoglobin.
A brief review of 300 years of hemoglobin research is followed by the book's three main parts. A review of hemoglobin structure and function includes the human hemoglobin subtypes, in-vivo modification, and animal hemoglobins, oxygen transport, and molecular genetics. The next two parts discuss thalassemias (imbalances of globin synthesis) and hemoglobinopathies (discrete structural abnormalities of the globin chain). The discussion