Your blood is red, so why are your veins blue?Why are your veins blue? | We The Curious

Your blood is red, so why are your veins blue?Why are your veins blue? | We The Curious

What happens in our body that make our veins look blue, although they are full of red blood? Following is a transcript of the video.

If our blood is red, then why do our veins look blue?

Don't be fooled, your blood is always red...
...whether it's pulsing in your veins or gushing from a wound.

Skin scatters more blue light than red.
The effect is amplified even more by an optical illusion.
Skin around the vein looks more red than the vein itself.
So, the color contrast enhances the veins' bluish hue.
Human blood is always red because of the iron in it.
The iron mixes with oxygen in your lungs, turning blood red.
But, the blood of other animals is different.
Because not all blood has the same chemical makeup.
Crustacean and spider blood has more copper than iron.
When the copper mixes with oxygen it turns blood blue.

By contrast, leech blood contains iron...
...but it's less concentrated than human blood, so it looks green.

Turns out, blood is more colorful than you might think!
What color is your blood. Red, right? Well, actually, yes. So why does it look blue when you see it through your skin? And is everyone's blood always the same color red (spoiler: no)? Do all animals have red blood ('nother spoiler: no!)? And why is red blood red anyway? Hank gives you the facts on vampires' favorite beverage.

Why are your veins blue? Nerys Shah uses infrared light to take a look underneath her skin to find out.

This video was presented by: Nerys Shah, Live Science Team
Produced and edited by: Ross Exton, Live Science Video Producer

Why are your veins blue? Nerys Shah uses infrared light to take a look underneath her skin to find out.

This video was presented by: Nerys Shah, Live Science Team
Produced and edited by: Ross Exton, Live Science Video Producer

Why are your veins blue? Nerys Shah uses infrared light to take a look underneath her skin to find out.

This video was presented by: Nerys Shah, Live Science Team
Produced and edited by: Ross Exton, Live Science Video Producer