1.14 The Components Of Blood Flashcards
What are the 4 components of blood?
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Platelets
Plasma
What are red blood cells and what do they do?
Red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a substance that allows oxygen to bind to it and be carried. This means red blood cells are responsible for oxygen transport.
Therefore, they are key to all sports and physical activities that require any level of aerobic work because they need to ensure that muscles have oxygen they need to perform effectively.
Most important for endurance events, e.g. marathons and long-distance cycling
What are white blood cells and what do they do?
White blood cells are part of the immune system. They travel in blood and fight disease and infection.
They are therefore, responsible for keeping athletes healthy, ensuring a sportsman can train and compete.
What are platelets and what do they do?
Platelets clot blood and scab around the site of an injury to seal open wounds. This is crucial to stop excessive bleeding and to heal the body quickly in order to prevent infection.
This is important to sports performance as it will stop injuries becoming life threatening.
What is plasma and what does it do?
Plasma is the watery fluid part of blood that makes it a liquid. Without plasma, the blood would not flow, and therefore, not be able to travel around the body.
