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Star Trek 101: Why does Spock have green blood?
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Spock, USS Enterprise First Officer and Science Officer, is half human and half Vulcan, the son of a human mother and a Vulcan father; his physiology seems to be mostly Vulcan.
Unlike human blood, which is iron-based, Vulcan blood is copper-based, making it green. Red blood cells in humans store oxygen by means of hemoglobin, which makes them bright red; that is why human arterial blood, on its way from the cardiopulmonary system, is brighter red than venous blood, which has carried its oxygen throughout the body's tissues and is on its return trip for re-oxygenating. Copper molecules, when oxidized are green--that's why copper pipes turn green eventually. Hence, green Vulcan blood. Vulcan venous blood, on its way back to the heart, is more copper- or rust-colored, containing less oxygen. Vulcan blood cells are also shaped differently, more like lentils, whereas human blood cells are concave.
Some of the other physiological differences between humans and Vulcans:
Vulcans can live about 250 Earth years.
Vulcans possess better night vision than humans, but a less efficient sense of smell (and therefore of taste), though in Star Trek: Enterprise there was some indication that female Vulcans have a better sense of smell than males.
Vulcans have the ability to cultivate psionic powers because of a highly developed midbrain.
They have a normal body temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit (32.78 Celsius).
Vulcans evolved a physiological mechanism in the brain for suppressing emotion.
Despite a resting heart rate of 242 beats per minute, average Vulcan blood pressure is 80/40. That is because Vulcan blood vessels are larger in diameter than human blood vessels, and stay extremely dilated as a cooling mechanism in Vulcan heat.
The Vulcan ribcage is comparatively long, to accommodate a lower heart and larger lungs. Vulcans needs far less sleep than humans do, are about three times stronger and have faster reflexes.
Pon farr, the Vulcan mating period, occurs about every seven years unless artificially triggered; unsatisfied pon farr can lead to death.
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