1: Introduction Flashcards
What is blood?
A type of tissue: cells suspended in a liquid called plasma
What is the production of blood cells called?
Haemopoiesis
What is haemopoiesis?
Production of blood cells
What are all blood cells derived from?
Haematopoiesis stem cells
Where does haemopoiesis occur in adults?
Bone marrow - axial skeleton only
Where does haemopoiesis occur in infants?
Bone marrow - all bones
Spleen
Liver
What are the functions of
a) RBCs
b) WBCs
c) platelets?
a) Oxygen transport; CO2 buffering
b) Protection against infection, malignancy
c) Prevention of bleeding
Which type of stem cell differentiates to form blood cells?
Haemopoietic stem cells
What three processes do haematopoietic stem cells undergo to produce blood?
Proliferation
Differentiation
Self-renewal of undifferentiated stem cells
(Undifferentiated / Differentiated) stem cells are hard to tell apart.
undifferentiated
Fully differentiated RBCs don’t have which organelles?
nucleus
mitochondria
Which specific cell produces platelets?
Megakaryocyte
Which three types of white blood cell come under the term granulocyte?
Eosinophil
Basophil
Neutrophil
named according to the dye they take up
What are neutrophils also known as?
Polymorph
What do neutrophils do?
Kill other cells with granules released during phagocytosis
Attract other immune cells
What do neutrophils look like?
Neutral stain
Multilobar nucleus
What do eosinophils look like?
Pink/red stain
Bilobar nucleus
In which infections or diseases are eosinophils raised?
Parasitic infections
Hypersensitivity / allergic disease
What do basophils look like?
Stain purple
Granules obscuring nucleus
Which other immune cell are basophils similar to?
Mast cells
Circulating versions of mast cells, so they also degranulate (releasing histamine) in response to IgE
What cell is a precursor to macrophages?
Monocyte
Monocytes differentiate into which cell?
Macrophages
What else can macrophages do once they’ve killed a cell by phagocytosis?
Antigen presentation
What do lymphocytes look like when they are
a) inactivated
b) activated?
a) Small cell with rim of cytoplasm around nucleus
b) Large cell, spreading cytoplasm and nucleus
The precursors of blood cells (including the stem cells) are hard to tell apart using a microscope.
Which techniques can be used to tell them apart?
Immunophenotyping
Bio-assays
Which anatomical landmark are bone marrow samples commonly taken from?
PSIS
What are the three broad constituents of blood?
What are their functions?
RBCs - oxygen transport
WBCs - protection against infection
Platelets - prevention of bleeding
Which cells produce platelets?
Megakaryocytes
Monocytes / macrophages act as ___-___ cells.
antigen-presenting cells
What is immunophenotyping?
Telling cells apart based on the antigens they express on their cell membranes
