CO is a potent, multi-system toxin. Although its most famous and immdeiately lethal effect is its affinity for haemoglobin (around 240 times 'stronger' than Hb's affinity for oxygen) it has many other effects too, on many other systems.
It can damage neural tissue directly. It causes rhabdomyolysis. It causes platelet aggregation.
It does loads of other stuff too.
It's produced naturally in the body, at a rate of about 2mls per day, by the enzyme haem oxygenase. Some postulate that haemoglobin itself is actually designed to scavenge physiological CO - hence the otherwise evolutionary inexplicable affinity for Hb with CO in preference to O2.
For a very quick hint at all you never knew about CO, have a look here. More to follow...
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