BLOOD & HEMATOPOIESIS

Blood components:
I. Formed elements – about 45% of blood volume
1. Red blood cells – anucleated discocyte; 6-8 µm in diameter and 2 µm in thickness
2. White blood cells
a. Granulocytes
! Neutrophils – have 2-5 nuclear lobes with tan to light pink granules
! Eosinophils – usually 2 nuclear lobes with bright red-orange granules
! Basophils – partially segmented nucleus and large, irregular purple-blue granules
b. Agranulocytes
! Lymphocytes – deep purple round or sl. oval nucleus with sky blue cytoplasm
! Monocytes – indented/lobed nucleus with brain-like convolutions with opaque,
grayish cytoplasm (ground glass appearance)
3. Platelets
II. Plasma – the fluid component which makes up about 55% of the blood volume

Hematopoiesis: production of blood cells. Which includes the proliferation and the
differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and may be subdivided, according to the cell type
being formed, into erythropoiesis, leukopoiesis, and thrombopoiesis.

I. Hematopoietic Stem Cells: These are undifferentiated mesodermal derivatives able to di

vide repeatedly and differentiate into mature blood cells.
a. CFUs (colony-forming units): form colonies of recognizable blood cell types in
culture. Some CFU-S cells may circulate in a form resembling lymphocytes. CFU-S
cells divide only rarely, probably because each of their progeny can give rise to so
many cells.
II. Theories of Hematopoiesis:
a. Monophyletic theory suggests that a pluripotent stem cell (CFU-S) can form all
mature blood cell types.
b. Polyphyletic theory suggests that each mature blood cell type is derived from a
distinct stem cell.
III. Regulation of Hematopoiesis: Involves specific colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) such as
erythropoietin, Ieukopoietin, and thrombopoietin. These hormones act at various steps in
hematopoiesis to enhance proliferation and differentiation of CFUs, but except for
erythropoietin, their nature and actions are not clear.
IV. Hematopoietic Tissues: These tissues are collections of CFUs and their progeny at various
stages of maturation, suspended in a reticular connective tissue stroma. Active
hematopoiesis shifts its location in overlapping stages during development during
pregnancy (intrauterine), postnatal, and extramedullary hematopoiesis. It occurs first in
the extra embryonic mesoderm of the yolk sac; then in the fetal liver, spleen, and thymus;
and finally in the bone marrow and lymphoid tissue.

 THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

General Function: The circulatory system is responsible for the transport and homeostatic
distribution of oxygen, nutrients, wastes, body fluids and solutes, body heat, and immune
system components.

Components of the Circulatory System:
1. Blood vascular system is to carry blood in both directions between the heart and the
tissues.
2. Lymphatic vascular system is to collect lymph, the excess extracellular fluid, and to deliver
it back to the cardiovascular system.

Blood Vascular System (Cardiovascular) – Composed of the heart and blood vessels: arteries,
capillaries, and veins.

BLOOD VESSELS: are classified according to type and size. Comparisons are based on structure
and function and often focus on the thickness and composition of the tunics.
Walls of the Blood Vessels:
II 1. Tunica intima, the innermost layer, borders the lumen; 1 layer of endothelial cells.
MM 2. Tunica media, is the middle layer, which consists of smooth muscle cells

AO 3. Tunica adventitia, the outermost layer, is composed mostly of fibroblasts, type 1 collagen

and elastic fibers that anchor the vessel in the surrounding tissues.

NS NERVE SUPPLY: Sympathetic nerves supply vasomotor innervation to the smooth muscle.
Because nerves seldom enter the tunica media of the vessel, they do not synapse directly on
the smooth muscle walls. Instead they release the neurotransmitter norepinephrine which
diffuses into the media and acts on smooth muscle cells nearby.

AA Arteries: are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. Arteries have a thicker tunica

media than veins do. In most tissues and organs, arteries are accompanied by veins.

Classification of Arteries: accept a large volume of blood from the heart and conduct it to smaller branches.
1. Elastic (Conducting) arteries – Aorta (carotid and subclavian artery); thick tunica intima.
2. Muscular (Distributing) arteries – characterized by a thick tunica media.
3. Arterioles – arteries with a diameter of less than 100 µm. Arteries that supply blood to
capillary beds are called metarterioles.

relatively thick tunica media allows precise control of blood vessel diameter to control blood flow to different areas or organs.

Blood Capillaries: These are the smallest vascular channels in the body, with an average
diameter of 7-8 µm. Their walls consist of single layer squamous epithelial (endothelial) cells
rolled into a tube covered on the outer surface by a thin basal lamina.

Cells of capillaries
1. Endothelial cells are simple squamous epithelial cells to form an epithelial tube.
2. Pericytes are small mesenchymal cells scattered along capillaries. They may or may not be
contractile. These mesenchymal stem cells may differentiate into a variety of cell types.

Types of capillaries. As for all vessels, capillaries are classified by wall structure.
1. Continuous capillaries have a smooth, nonporous, endothelial lining in which the cells
attach tightly to each other by junctional complexes. Structures containing continuous
capillaries include muscles, the brain, and peripheral nerves.
2. Fenestrated capillaries have endothelial cells perforated by pores (fenestrae). There are 2
types, one with unobstructed pores and another with pores covered by thin diaphragms
that limit the size of macromolecules that can pass. Fenestrated capillaries occur in tissues
where a rapid exchange of materials between tissues and the blood is required. Organs
containing fenestrated capillaries include the kidneys, intestines, and certain endocrine
glands.
3. Sinusoidal capillaries have 6 distinctive features. They (l) have unusually wide lumens (30-
40 um); (2) follow a tortuous path; (3) have gaps between their endothelial cells, often large
enough to allow cells to pass; (4) have abundant fenestrations: (5) often have phagocytic
cells interspersed among their endothelial cells; and (6) are surrounded by a discontinuous
basal lamina. Found in bone marrow, spleen, liver, lymphoid organs.

Transport across capillary walls: Capillaries are termed exchange vessels, because capillary
beds serve as major sites for the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and many other substances
between blood and other tissues.

Arteriovenous Anastomoses are direct vascular connections between arterioles and venules
that bypass the capillary bed. AVAs have shunts. When the AVAs are closed the blood passes
through the capillary bed; when shunts are open, large amount of blood bypasses the capillary
bed and flows through the AVA. These shunts are useful in thermoregulation and are abundant
in the skin.

Veins: In cross sections, veins often appear collapsed. They have thinner walls than arteries and
are more likely to contain erythrocytes in their lumen in sectioned tissue. They are
characterized by a thicker adventitia, which in larger veins may contain longitudinal smooth
muscle. Veins contain valves that help maintain unidirectional blood flow.

Blood and Nerve Supply to Blood Vessels: Oxygen, nutrients, and wastes cannot reach all cells
in the walls of large arteries and veins by simple diffusion from the lumen. The vasa vasorum
("vessels of` the vessels") form a capillary network to distribute blood to cells in the walls of
these vessels.

HEART
Chambers: The heart has 4 chambers: 2 atria, thinner-walled chambers located at the base
(top) of the heart, which collect returning blood; and 2 ventricles, thicker-walled chambers
located in the body and apex of the heart.

Tunics: The walls of the heart have 3 layers or tunics.
1. Endocardium (inner layer) has the same basic structure as the intima of the vessels.
2. Myocardium is the middle layer. This layer consists mainly of cardiac muscle fibers and
carries out the forceful contractions that allow the heart to serve as a pump. It is
homologous to the much thinner media of vessels.
 3. Epicardium, or visceral pericardium is the outermost tunic. While occupying the same
relative position as the tunica adventitia, it is a serosa rather than an adventitia. The smooth
mesothelial surface reduces the friction, generated during contraction, between the heart
and the surrounding structures.

Cardiac Skeleton: has 3 major groups of components.
1. The annuli fihrosai are rings of dense connective tissue that surround and reinforce the
valve openings in the atrioventricular canals and at the origins of the aorta and pulmonary
artery.
2. The trigonum fibrosum are 2 triangular masses of dense connective tissue, occasionally
containing some cartilage, that lie in the vicinity of the cuspal area and of the aortic valve.
3. The septum membranaceum is a dense fibrous plate that forms the superior portion of the
otherwise muscular interventricular septum.


Impulse-Generating and Conducting System: This system comprises unusual cardiac muscle
cells specialized for the initiation and conduction of electrochemical impulses. The distribution
of these cells allows the impulses they carry to coordinate the contraction of the myocardium
surrounding the chambers of the heart.
1. The sinoatrial (SA) node, or pacemaker node, is a small cell mass in the median wall of the
right atrium, near the opening of the superior vena cava. All cardiac muscle cells contract
spontaneously; the cells with the fastest intrinsic rhythm generate impulses that lead the
surrounding cells to contract faster. Since the cells of the SA node have the fastest intrinsic
rhythm, they serve as the pacemaker for the rest of the heart.
2. The atrioventricular (AV) node is a cluster of cells located on the right side of the interatrial
septum. As the impulse leaves the AV node, it passes directly and rapidly along the atrio-
ventricular bundle.
3. The atrioventricular (AV) bundle (of His), is a bundle of specialized cardiac muscle fibers,
that passes from the interatrial septum into the interventricular scptum. It terminates by
giving off a smaller bundle branch to each ventricle.
4. The right and left bundle branches travel a short distance before branching further to form
the Purkinje fibers
5. Purkinje fibers are cardiac muscle cells specialized to conduct electrochemical impulses.
They are wider than typical cardiac muscle cells and contain sparse myofilaments that are
concentrated at the cell periphery. They are generally wider than the cells in bundle
branches and, like typical cardiac muscle cells, may have one or 2 central nuclei and are
connected by intercalated disks. The impulses are transmitted through gap junctions
between the Purkinje fibers and the cardiac muscle cells they contact.
6. Ventricular cardiac muscle cells are the last link in the impulse conduction chain. They not
only contract in response to the impulse, but also can propagate the impulses they receive
from Purkinje fibers and pass them on to their neighbors. Thus, the cardiac musculature
functions effectively, contracting as one in a synchronous, coordinated manner.

Blood Supply to the Heart: The coronary arteries arise near the origin of the aorta and supply
oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium.