What is blood ? what are its components ?mention their function? .com?
Answers
Hello!!
Blood is the red liquid that circulates in the arteries and veins of humans and other vertebrate animals, carrying oxygen to and carbon dioxide from the tissues of the body.
It has four main components:
plasma
red blood cells
white blood cells
platelets.
Plasma:The liquid component of blood is called plasma, a mixture of water, sugar, fat, protein, and salts. The main job of the plasma is to transport blood cells throughout your body along with nutrients, waste products, antibodies, clotting proteins, chemical messengers such as hormones, and proteins that help maintain the body's fluid balance.
Red Blood Cells: Known for their bright red color, red cells are the most abundant cell in the blood, accounting for about 40 to 45 percent of its volume. The shape of a red blood cell is a biconcave disk with a flattened center - in other words, both faces of the disc have shallow bowl-like indentations (a red blood cell looks like a donut).
Production of red blood cells is controlled by erythropoietin, a hormone produced primarily by the kidneys. Red blood cells start as immature cells in the bone marrow and after approximately seven days of maturation are released into the bloodstream. Unlike many other cells, red blood cells have no nucleus and can easily change shape, helping them fit through the various blood vessels in your body. However, while the lack of a nucleus makes a red blood cell more flexible, it also limits the life of the cell as it travels through the smallest blood vessels, damaging the cell's membranes and depleting its energy supplies. The red blood cell survives on average only 120 days.
Red cells contain a special protein called hemoglobin, which helps carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and then returns carbon dioxide from the body to the lungs so it can be exhaled. Blood appears red because of the large number of red blood cells, which get their color from the hemoglobin. The percentage of whole blood volume that is made up of red blood cells is called the hematocrit and is a common measure of red blood cell levels.
White blood cells: White blood cells protect the body from infection. They are much fewer in number than red blood cells, accounting for about 1 percent of your blood.
The most common type of white blood cell is the neutrophil, which is the "immediate response" cell and accounts for 55 to 70 percent of the total white blood cell count. Each neutrophil lives less than a day, so your bone marrow must constantly make new neutrophils to maintain protection against infection. Transfusion of neutrophils is generally not effective since they do not remain in the body for very long.
The other major type of white blood cell is a lymphocyte. There are two main populations of these cells. T lymphocytes help regulate the function of other immune cells and directly attack various infected cells and tumors. B lymphocytes make antibodies, which are proteins that specifically target bacteria, viruses, and other foreign materials.
Platelets: Unlike red and white blood cells, platelets are not actually cells but rather small fragments of cells. Platelets help the blood clotting process (or coagulation) by gathering at the site of an injury, sticking to the lining of the injured blood vessel, and forming a platform on which blood coagulation can occur. This results in the formation of a fibrin clot, which covers the wound and prevents blood from leaking out. Fibrin also forms the initial scaffolding upon which new tissue forms, thus promoting healing.
A higher than normal number of platelets can cause unnecessary clotting, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks; however, thanks to advances made in antiplatelet therapies, there are treatments available to help prevent these potentially fatal events. Conversely, lower than normal counts can lead to extensive bleeding.
Hope it helps:
~Krissy
Aside from these major functions, however, blood carries out so much more. Some of the biggest functions of blood include:
Removing waste products from the body, like carbon dioxideTransporting hormonesRegulating acidity levels (pH)Regulating body temperatureHydraulic functions
Blood is considered to be a specialized tissue. Within it, there are over 4,000 different components. However, four main components carry out many of its basic functions. Everyone produces these components in the same way, and they carry out the same functions for each person.
What are the Main Components of Blood?
The main four components of blood are:
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Plasma
Platelets
Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells are also known as erythrocytes. They are relatively large cells and account for 40% to 50% of your blood’s total volume. If you were to look at red blood cells underneath a microscope, they would appear as flat, disk-shaped cells
leukocytes
White blood cells, commonly known as leukocytes, are the cells that help our immune system. Strangely enough, they only make up about 1% of the blood volume in an average, healthy person. That 1% is usually enough to keep us strong and healthy
plasma
Plasma is a clear/yellow-tinted watery substance that makes up about 55% of our blood’s volume. It contains the other components of blood, and many other substances to make up that amount of volume. Some of the other substances include things like protein, albumin, globulin (globular proteins), and sugar.
platelets
Platelets help to clot blood properly. They are also called thrombocytes. They don’t have nuclei and work with chemicals to help blood clot when you have an injury. This is because they don’t have enough clotting power on their own. They help the blood to clot by sticking to the blood vessel walls