Blood All About Blood Blood Video Components Plasma

Blood

All About Blood • Blood Video • Components: – Plasma (55%) • Non-living fluid matrix – “Formed Elements” (45%) • Connective tissue, living blood cells

Physical Characteristics • Sticky, opaque fluid with metallic taste (a little salty) • Depending on the amount of oxygen is what determines the color – Scarlet (oxygen rich) – Dull-red (oxygen poor) • Blood accounts for approximately 8% of body weight – Volume in healthy males is 5 -6 liters (~6 quarts)

PLASMA

Plasma • 90% water is the liquid part of blood • Over 100 different substances are dissolved in the straw-colored fluid – Includes: metal ions (salts), respiratory gases, hormones, plasma proteins, and various wastes and products of cell metabolism • Plasma proteins are the most abundant solutes, made by the liver, serve a variety of functions • Helps to distribute heat evenly throughout the body

Plasma Proteins • Albumin: – contributes to the osmotic pressure of blood, which acts to keep water in the blood stream • Clotting Proteins: – helps prevent blood loss when a blood vessel is injured • Antibodies: – help protect the body from pathogens **Plasma proteins are NOT taken up by cells for fuel or metabolic functions**

Acidosis vs. Alkalosis – When blood proteins drop to undesirable levels, the liver is stimulated to make more proteins • When the blood becomes too acidic = acidosis • When the blood becomes too alkaline = alkalosis – The respiratory system and the kidneys are called into action to restore it to its normal, slightly alkaline p. H range ~7. 3

FORMED ELEMENTS

Microscopic View • You will see smooth, disc-shaped red blood cells, a variety of gaudily stained white blood cells and some scattered platelets that look like debris

Erythrocytes • Aka Red Blood Cells (RBCs) • Function: to circulate oxygen to all cells of the body • RBCs do not have a nucleus and very few organelles • Basically, they are sacs of hemoglobin molecules – Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein, transports the bulk of the oxygen that is carried in the blood • Also binds with a small amount of CO 2 • They lack mitochondria which means they do not use up the oxygen they carry to make ATP • RBCs outnumber white blood cells about 1000: 1

Leukocytes • • AKA White Blood Cells (WBCs) Far less numerous than RBCs Crucial to the body’s defense against disease Account for less than 1% of total blood volume • Only complete cells in blood (contain nucleus & organelles) • How your body fights the flu…

WBCs cont’d • The circulatory system is their means of transportation to where their services are needed for inflammatory or immune responses • WBCs can locate areas of tissue damage and infection by responding to certain chemical signals = positive chemotaxis • Once they have “caught the scent” the WBCs move through tissue spaces via AMBOID MOTION (flowing cytoplasmic extensions that help move them along) and will then destroy the invaders

Leukocytes • Leukocytosis: – excessive amounts of WBCs, generally indicates that a bacterial infection or viral infection is forming • Leukopenia: – abnormally low WBC count, commonly caused by certain drugs, such as corticosteriods and anticancer agents

HOMEOSTATIC IMBALANCE

Anemia • A decrease in the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood • May be a result of – 1) a lower-than-normal number of RBCs or – 2) abnormal or deficient hemoglobin content in the RBCs • Several types of anemia are classified and described briefly on page 311 – Sickle-cell anemia • Genetic disorder, frequently seen in hospitals • Hemoglobin is spiky and sharp when the RBCs unload the O 2, the RBCs can rupture

Polycythemia • An excessive or abnormal increase in the number of erythrocytes • May result from bone marrow cancer • May also be a normal response from living at high altitudes where the air is thinner and less O 2 is available

Read page 312 -314 HOMEOSTATIC IMBALANCE

Blood Types Read printout over the different blood types