Hemoglobin and Cyanide

[G. Lane]

In <4a4le3$d1n at newserv.ksu.ksu.edu> "Dr. Laura A. Andersson" <laraheme at KSUVM.KSU.EDU> writes:

>trying again. [this is my first time on newsgroup].  anyway, the "reduction" is not 
>a redox reaction, but a "decrease" (also a reduction) in amount of metMb. With 
>respect to number of hemoglobin bands, first metHb has bands at 405 (Soret) 500 & 
>629 nm, with millimolar extinction coefficients, respectively, of 179, 10, and 4.4. 
> but for cyanometHb, the bands are at 418 and 541 nm, with millimolar extinction 
>coefficeints of 124 and 12.5 nm.  key point - the "high-spin" marker at 629 is 
>GONE if the cyanide form is complete. [Hb has a high affinity for cyanide - only 
>need ~10 x to be complete.]

is the cyanide strength with Hb at the iron, leading one to a similar
conclusion with carbon monoxide (oxygen is worse at bonding to iron than
either CN- , or CO), My question: does exposure to cyanide resemble carbon
monoxide exposure?