BLOOD

FUNCTIONS

1. Transport of gases, nutrients, and waste products

2. Transport of processed molecules

3. Transport of regulatory molecules

4. Regulation of pH and osmosis

5. Maintenance of body temperature

6. Protection against foreign substances

7. Clot formation

COMPOSITION

Blood is a type of connective tissue that consists of a liquid matrix containing cells and cell fragments.

PLASMA

-Liquid matrix

FORMED ELEMENTS

-Cells and cell fragments

TOTAL BLOOD VOLUME:

4-5 L (Adult female)

5-6 L (adult male)

FORMED ELEMENTS

Red blood cells / erythrocytes

-most abundant (95%)

White blood cells/ leukocytes and platelets/thrombocytes

-5%

PRODUCTION:

Hematopoiesis

-Hematopoiesis is the process by which a small pool of self-renewing pluripotent HSCs produce red
blood cells, platelets, and all leukocyte types. 
RED BLOOD CELLS

-disk-shape, with edges that are thicker than the center of the cell

-biconcave shape increases its surface area for easier movement of gases and enabling it to pass more
easily through small blood vessels.

-lifespan: 120 days

HEMOGLOBIN

-responsible for the cell’s red color

-contains 4 protein chains and 4 heme groups. (1 globin: 1 heme)

Function

 Transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and transport CO2 from tissues to the lungs.
Other molecules that bind to hemoglobin

Carbon monoxide (CO)

-binds to iron in hemoglobin about 210 times more readily than oxygen and does not tend to unbind

-nausea, headache, unconsciousness, and death are possible consequences of prolonged exposure to
CO.

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

-produced in tissues and is transported to the lungs where it is removed from the blood.

-involves bicarbonate ions (70%), hemoglobin (23%), and plasma (7%).

Carbonic anhydrase

-enzyme that coverts CO2 and H2O to hydrogen ion (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-).

negative-feedback mechanism that increases the blood’s capacity to transport oxygen and maintain
homeostasis.
1. In macrophages, the globin part of hgb is broken down to amino acids and reused to produce
other proteins.

2. The heme of hemoglobin releases iron. The heme is converted into bilirubin

3. Blood transports iron to the red bone marrow, where it is used to produce new hemoglobin

4. Blood transports bilirubin to the liver

5. Bilirubin is excreted as part o the bile into the small intestine. Some bilirubin derivatives
contribute to brown color of feces (stercobilin)

6. Other bilirubin derivatives are reabsorbed from the intestine into the blood and excreted from
the kidneys in the urine (urobilin/urochrome)
WHITE BLOOD CELLS

-spherical cells that lack hemoglobin

FUNCTIONS:

1. To protect the body against invading

microorganisms and other pathogens

2. To remove dead cells and debris from

tissues by phagocytosis

Granulocytes:

1. Neutrophils (most common)

2. Basophils (least common)

3. Eosinophils

Agranulocytes:

1. Lymphocytes (smallest)

2. Monocytes (largest)

PLATELETS

-minute cell fragments produced in the red bone marrow from large cells called megakaryocytes.

-plays important role in preventing blood loss.

PREVENTING BLOOD LOSS

THREE PROCESSES:

1. Vascular spasm

2. Platelet plug formation

3. Blood clotting/coagulation

Vascular spasm

-immediate but temporary constriction of a blood vessel that results when smooth muscle within the wall of the vessel
contracts.

Platelet plug formation

- Accumulation of platelets that can seal up a small break in the blood vessel.

Blood clotting/coagulation

- Formation of clot which is a network of threadlike protein fibers, called fibrin, that traps blood cells, platelets, and fluid.
Fibrinolysis
- enzymatic breakdown of fibrin in bl

1. Thrombin and tissue plasminogen activator convert inactive

plasminogen into plasmin

2. Plasmin breaks down the fibrin in blood clot.

BLOOD GROUPING

Transfusion- the transfer of blood or blood components

from one individual to another

Infusion- introduction of fluid other than blood such as

saline into the blood.

ABO BLOOD GROUP

-system used to categorize human blood.

-
Rh blood group

-so named because it was first studied in the Rhesus monkey.

Rh positive – have rh antigens on surface of RBCs

Rh negative- lack the rh antigens

-ABO blood type and the Rh blood type are usually expressed
together

-antibodies against the Rh antigens do not develop unless an rh

negative person is exposed to rh-positive red cells.

-Rh incompatibility can pose a major problem in pregnancy

when the mother is Rh-negative and the fetus is Rh positive.

HEMOLYTIC DISEASE OF THE NEWBORN (HDN)/

ERYTHROBLASTOSIS FETALIS

-mother produces Rh-antibodies that cross the placenta and

cause agglutination and hemolysis of fetal red cells.

Diagnostic procedures

 ABO typing

 Crossmatching

 Complete Blood count

rbc, hemoglobin, hematocrit, wbc count

 Differential WBC (quantitate neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes)

 Clotting

Platelet count, Prothrombin time

Blood chemistry

FBS, LIPID PROFILE, BUN, BILIRUBIN