Blood

Blood is an important fluid that keeps us alive. We cannot live without it. The heart pumps blood to

all parts of the body and brings them oxygen and food. At the same time blood carries all the

substances we don’t need away from us. Blood fights infections, keeps our body temperature the

same and carries chemicals that control body functions. Finally, blood has substances that repair

broken blood vessels so that we don’t bleed to death.

What blood is made of

Blood is a mixture of fluid and solid matter.

Plasma is the liquid part of our blood. It makes up about 50 – 60 % of it. Plasma consists mostly of

water but many other substances are in it. It contains dissolved food, chemicals that control our

growth and do other jobs, proteins, minerals and waste products.

Red blood cells look like flat round discs. They contain haemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen

to the body and gives blood its red colour. Each drop of blood has about 300 million of these red

cells.

White blood cells, also called leukocytes, fight infections and harmful substances that invade the

body. Most of these cells are round and colourless. They have different sizes and shapes. White

blood cells are not as numerous as red ones. For every 700 red blood cells there is only one white

blood cell.

Platelets are tiny bodies that are much smaller than red blood cells. They stick to the edges of a cut

and form blood clots to stop bleeding. The blood of a normal adult has about 2 trillion platelets.

How blood works in the body

The circulatory system carries blood to all parts of your body. The heart pumps blood through big

blood vessels called arteries and veins. In our body there are also millions of small blood vessels

called capillaries. Oxygen, food and other substances pass through the thin walls of these capillaries

into the tissue.

When you inhale air oxygen passes through your lungs and and is picked up by haemoglobin which

transports it to your whole body. It is released into cells which produce energy. In return cells
produce carbon dioxide which enters your blood stream and is transported back to your lungs

where it is exhaled.

Food also reaches your body by means of blood. It is digested in your stomach and important

substances like fat, sugar, proteins, vitamins and minerals are separated. These nutrients enter

your blood stream and are moved to the cells and muscles where they are needed in order to give

you energy or fuel. The work of the muscles and other tissue creates heat. Blood is the transporting

system which carries heat throughout your body and warms you. The things that you don’t need

are transported to your intestines and kidneys and leave your body again.

White blood cells play an important role in your immune system. When harmful substances invade

your body an alarm goes off and white blood cells are activated. Then they work to destroy the

invaders. They fight off viruses, harmful bacteria and begin anti-body production.

Blood also carries hormones to places where they are needed. When a hormone reaches a part of

the body it controls growth, how the body uses food and other things.

You would bleed to death from a small cut if your blood didn’t clot. When a blood vessel breaks

platelets rush to the damaged area and stick to one another , forming a plug.

The blood supply

Blood cells come from bone marrow. They begin as stem cells and then develop into red or white

blood cells, or platelets. They don’t live forever and must be replaced by new ones. Red blood cells

live an average of 120 days before wearing out. Then they are captured and destroyed in the liver

and spleen. Platelets live only for about 10 days.

The amount of blood in your body depends on your size, weight and the altitude at which you live.

An adult who weighs 80 kg has about 5 litres of blood, a 40 kg child about half the amount. People

who live in high areas where the air is thinner need more blood to deliver more oxygen to the

body.

Blood groups

Blood groups are very important in order to find out if a person can donate blood or receive blood

in case of an accident or another disease. Almost everyone’s plasma has antibodies that that may

not work together with another person’s blood.

There are four main blood groups :

• Type 0 is the most common blood group. In an emergency type 0 blood can be transfused to

anybody.

• Type AB is the most seldom group. People with this blood group can receive any other blood in

case of an emergency.

• Type A can only be received by donors with A or 0.

• Type B can only be received by donors with B or 0.

Blood transfusion

If an adult suddenly loses a litre or more of blood he may die unless the blood in his body can be

replaced. Over the years blood transfusions have saved countless lives. Transfusions can also help

patients who cannot produce enough blood cells to survive. They also help during operations when

patients lose some blood.

Blood banks collect blood from donors and put it in sterile bags. It is cooled down and can be

stored for up to 50 days. Laboratory workers screen blood for infectious diseases like AIDS and

hepatitis. Only clean and safe blood can be given to patients.

Blood diseases

When a person suffers from anaemia there are not enough red blood cells to supply the body with

the oxygen he needs. Leukaemia is a kind of cancer of the bone marrow, in which not enough or

abnormal white blood cells are produced. Without white blood cells diseases can enter your body

without being controlled.

When your body does not have enough platelets blood cannot clot well. Even small injuries can

lead to a loss of blood because bleeding doesn’t stop.

 Vocabulary

abnormal = very different, unusual, deviant, blood stream =the flow of blood in your

deviating, irregular, uygun olmayan body, kan dolaşımı

activate = start to work, move, actuate, set blood transfusion = putting blood from one

in motion, çalıştırmak person into the body of another, kan nakli

adult = a grown up person, grown-up, blood vessel = one of the tubes through

mature, yetişkin which blood flows in your body, kan damarı

altitude = the height that an object has bone marrow = soft material in your bones,

above the sea, elevation, EL, ALT, rakım kemik iliği

amount =quantity, how much of something, by means of = through, sayesinde

miktar
capture = to catch something and keep it,

anaemia = when there are not enough red seize, take, catch, yakalamak

blood cells in your body, anemi, kansızlık

carbon dioxide = the gas that is produced

anti-body = something that your body when animals or people breathe out, karbon

produces to fight off diseases, antikor dioksit

artery = blood vessel that brings blood from circulatory = when blood moves around your

the heart to parts of the body, damar yolu body , kanın vucutta dolaşımı

average =normally, usually, mean, norm, colourless = without a colour, renksiz

usual, ortalama
common = it happens very often, ordinary,

bleed = to lose blood if you are hurt, leech, everyday, commonplace, yaygın

phlebotomize, phlebotomise, kanama

countless = so many that you cannot count

blood bank = a store of human blood that is them

used in operations or when a patient is ill,

create = make, produce, form, bring into
kan bankası
being, oluşturmak, yaratmak

blood clot = a thick solid mass of blood, kan

deliver = transport, carry, bring, convey,
pıhtısı
teslim etmek, taşımak
depend on =to be affected by something growth =the speed at which we become

else, devolve on, depend upon, ride, taller, to get bigger, büyüme, çoğalma,

güvenmek
hepatitis = a disease of the liver that gives

destroy =damage, demolish, tear/pull you fever and makes your skin yellow,

down, raze, tahrip etme hepatit

develop = grow, advance, expand hormone = chemical substance produced by

(on/upon), geliştirmek your body that controls growth and other

things, hormon
digest = to change food that you have eaten

into material that the body can use, sindirim infectious = something that can be passed

from one person to another, mostly by air,

disease = illness, sickness, affliction,
enfeksiyon
ailment, hastalık

inhale = to breathe in, breathe in, inspire,

dissolved = to mix with liquid and become a
draw/suck in, soluk alma
part of it, çözülmeyen, erimeyen

injury = if you are hurt, when you are hurt in

donate = to give something to a person in
an accident, yaralanma
order to help him, provide, supply, present,

bağışta bulunmak intestine = a long tube in your body through

which food goes after it leaves your stomach,

donor = here: a person who gives blood,
bağırsak
giver, provider, supplier, bağışçı, donör

invade = go into, enter, fill with, plague,

edge =the outside part of something,
beset, doldurmak
birşeyin ucu, kenarı

kidney = one of the two organs in your back

emergency = an unexpected situation that is
that takes away waste products from your
dangerous, acil durum
blood and makes urine, böbrekler
exhale = to breathe out, breathe (out),
liquid = same as “fluid”, watery substance,
blow, puff, solunum vermek
sıvı sulu madde
fluid =liquid, watery substance, sıvı sulu
liver = large organ in your body that cleans
madde
your blood, karaciğer
loss = if you lose something or don’t have it separate = divide, disjoin, pull/take/break

any more, kaybetme apart, ayırmak, ayrı

mixture =combination of, assortment, shape = form, what something looks like,

amalgam, amalgamation, karışım what something form, şekil

numerous = many, çok sayıda size = how tall you are or how big something

is, boyut
nutrient = chemical or food that gives you

what you need to grow, besin maddesi solid matter = something that is hard, katı

madde
oxygen = a gas that is in the air and which we

need to breathe, oksijen stem cell = a special cell in your body that

can divide in order to form other cells that

plug =here: an object that stops blood from
do special things, kök hücre
getting out, tampon yapmak

sterile = completely clean; something that

protein = a substance that is in food like
does not have any bacteria, steril
meat, eggs and beans and which your body

needs to grow and stay strong, protein store = keep in a place, to keep things in a

place, depo
protein = a substance that is in food like

meat, eggs and beans and which your body substance =material, stuff, material, matter,

needs to grow and stay strong, protein stuff, cisim, madde

repair = fix something that is broken, mend, suddenly = very quickly, surprisingly, aniden

patch (up), renew, tamir etmek

suffer from =to feel pain because of a certain

replace =to remove something and put illness, hastalık ağrısı, acısı çekmek

something else in there instead, değiştirmek

survive = to continue to live, to live on,

rush = hurry, hurry (up), hasten, run, acele continue, last, live (on), persist, sağ kalmak,

etmek yaşamak, yaşamaya devam etmek

screen = to test someone to find out if they throughout = in your whole, baştan başa,

have an illness, incelemek, check up tamamen

seldom = not very often, rarely, tissue = the material that forms cells, doku

infrequently, not often, nadiren

transfuse =transfer from one person to waste = something you don’t need any more,

another, doku veya kan nakli not needed, squander, misuse, throw away,

boşa harcamak
trillion = a number that has 12 zeros, trilyon

wear out = here: lose their power, break,

vein =blood vessel that brings blood from the
wear, bust, yıpranmak, aşınmak
parts of the body back to the heart, damar

weight = how heavy you are, how heavy

something is, load, charge, ballast, ağırlık