UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
MED 1106 – PHYSIOLOGY
I
DR KALIMA THOMPSON
The Blood
 General Functions of the Blood
Have three general functions
1. Transportation
- transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, hormones, heat, and wastes

2. Regulation
- maintain homeostasis of all body fluids -
regulates pH -
body temperature (through the heat absorbing and coolant properties of water)
3. Protection
- against blood loss (clotting) -
against disease by phagocytic white cells and proteins (antibodies, interferons,
and complement)
Functions of Blood
Components of Blood
 Hematopoiesis
The process by which mature blood cells are derived from precursor cells

Two types
1. Intramedullary -
Occurs mainly in the bone marrow of the the proximal ends of the femurs, skull,
ribs, sternum, vertebral column, pelvis
2. Extramedullary
- Occurs outside the medulla of the bone
- Can be physiologic or pathologic
- Occurs during embryonic and fetal development - In the early embryo
physiologic hematopoiesis occurs in the yolk sac, and later in fetal life, the liver
Hematopoiesis
Hematopoiesis
 Formed Elements
 Erythrocytes
 The whole mass of mature circulating erythrocytes and their precursors in the bone
marrow is called the erythron
 function exclusively within the vascular system
 contain large amounts of oxygen-carrying haemoglobin
 primarily involved in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide
 Leucocytes
 play a vital role in the immune defence system
 act mainly in tissues, outside vascular system
 leucocytes In the circulating blood are merely in transit between their various sites of
activity
 Platelets
 play a vital role in haemostasis
Overview of the Formation of Formed Elements of Blood
Characteristics of Formed Elements
Erythropoiesis
Removal of Effete Erythrocytes
Heme Degradation Pathway
Erythropoietin and Tissue Oxygenation
Iron Metabolism
 Blood Groups
 Erythrocytes contain different combinations of surface proteins that confer
different blood groups

 Two Systems
1. ABO blood grouping system
2. RH (+/-) factor blood grouping system

 The Rh factor is inherited separately from the ABO blood types

ABO Blood Groups
Rhesus Blood Groups
Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn
 Iron Deficiency Anemia
 Anemia can be defined as a low hemoglobin concentration

 Caused by inadequate absorption of iron (blood loss from menorrhagia and

gastrointestinal bleeding, poor diet, malabsorption, hookworm infestation)

 Iron is essential for globin chain synthesis and the oxygen carrying capacity of
the hemoglobin molecules

 A low hemoglobin at sea-level is < 13.5g/dl for males and < 11.5g/dl in females
Leukocyte Production
 Types of Leucocytes
Six types
1. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils
2. Polymorphonuclear eosinophils
3. Polymorphonuclear basophils
4. Monocytes
5. Lymphocytes
6. Plasma cells
 Leukocyte Functions
 Neutrophils
 highly mobile phagocytic specialists that engulf and destroy unwanted materials
 Eosinophils
 secrete chemicals that destroy parasitic worms
 play a crucial role in allergic reactions
 Basophils
 release histamine and heparin
 also play a role in allergic reactions
 Monocytes
 transformed into macrophages (enlarged, tissue-bound phagocytic specialists)
 Lymphocytes
 B - lymphocytes (B cells)
 transformed into plasma cells, which secrete antibodies that indirectly participate in the destruction of foreign material
(antibody-mediated immunity)
 T - lymphocytes (T cells)
 directly destroy virus-invaded cells and mutant cells by releasing chemicals that inflict lethal holes in the victim cells (cell-
mediated immunity)
Phagocytosis
 Natural killer cells
 Eliminate cancerous and virus-infected cells
 Kill target cells by releasing perforins and other cytolytic chemicals
 Secrete potent chemicals that enhance the inflammatory response
 Leukemias
 A malignant progressive disease where the bone marrow and other blood-
forming organs produce increased numbers of immature or abnormal
leucocytes

 The production of normal blood cells is suppressed leading to anemia and

other clinical presentations
Leukemias

Leukemias

Lymphoid Myeloid

Acute Lymphoblastic Acute Myeloid

& &
Chronic Lymphocytic Chronic Myeloid
 Lymphomas
 A group of tumors that develop from lymphocytes

 Two Basic Types

1. Hodgkin’s (Reed Sternberg Cells)
2. Non- Hodgkin’s (No Reed Sternberg Cells)
 Thrombopoiesis
 The process of production of plateletes

 Platelets
 Synthesized by a process of fragmentation off of precursor megakaryocytes
 Anucleate
 Necessary for the process of Hemostasis
 Contain granules important for clotting
Thrombopoiesis
Platelet Granules
Functions of Platelets
Hemostasis
Hemostasis
Coagulation
Coagulation Cascade
Coagulation Cascade
Coagulation and Fibrinolysis
 Coagulation and Fibrinolysis
 Both pathways balance each other

 Disease occur when one overwhelms the other

Coagulation
Fibrinolysis