Blood 1

Question 1

What is the function of blood?

Answer 1

Transport (oxygen, nutrients, waste)
Regulation (maintain pH, body temp)
Protection (prevent infection, blood loss)

Question 2

How much blood is in the body?

Answer 2

70 mL blood / kg

Question 3

What does blood consist of?

Answer 3

Plasma 
Salts 
Nutrients 
gases
hormones 
proteins 
cells

Question 4

What does plasma NOT contain?

Answer 4

Cells

Question 5

What is serum?

Answer 5

non physiological body fluid
generated ex vivo
when blood taken, allowed to clot then centrifuges to pellet. liquid left over is serum
Used to analyse antibody response

Question 6

What’s in normal plasma?

Answer 6

> 100 solutes

Question 7

What’s the normal level of plasma proteins?

Answer 7

60-80 g/ L

Question 8

3 examples of plasma proteins?

Answer 8

Globulin (transport ions, hormones, lipids)
Albumin (maintain osmotic pressure & transport insoluble molecules)
Fibrinogen (coagulation)

Question 9

Homeostasis

Answer 9

Composition of plasma varies to maintain homeostasis

Question 10

Haematopoiesis

Answer 10

Production of new blood cells
Produced from stem cells
Occurs at different sites depending on life stage

Question 11

Erythrocytes

Answer 11

Red Blood cells 
Most abundant 
Transport O2&CO2 
Lifespan 120 days 
1% replaced each day 
1 RBC has 250 million Hb, so can transport 1 billion O2

Question 12

Haematocrit

Answer 12

Useful to estimate RBC production to measure O2 carrying capacity
Haematocrit ratio is proportion of blood made up by cells; packed cell volume

Question 13

Normal packed cell volume?

Answer 13

0. 47 males

0. 42 females

Question 14

Erthythropoiesis

Answer 14

Process of generating mature erythrocytes

Regulated by feedback process by a protein released in kidney

Question 15

Anaemia

Answer 15

Iron / B12 deficiency

Question 16

Erythrocyte breakdown

Answer 16

90% removed from circulation by phagocytic macrophages in liver, spleen and lymph nodes
10% stay in circulation and engulfed by macrophages

Question 17

What is haemoglobin degraded into?

Answer 17

Globulin which further digested into amino acids

Iron removed from Haem and either stored or released into blood, can be used to make new Hb

Question 18

Bilirubin

Answer 18

Secreted into small intestine with bile

In large bowel it’s converted by bacteria into pigment to give urine and faeces it’s colour

Question 19

Leukocyte

Answer 19

White blood cells
Lobed nuclei
Motile & attracted to site of injury
Different types

Question 20

Neutrophils

Answer 20

Most numerous leukocyte
Defend against bacteria and some fungi
active phagocytes
Can metabolise O2 to produce oxidising substances

Question 21

Eosinophils

Answer 21

Stain red from acid
filled with digestive enzymes
lead attack on parasitic worms

Question 22

Basophils

Answer 22

Stain purple / black

filled with histamine

Question 23

Monocytes & Macrophages

Answer 23

3-8% of WBC 
lifespan of months 
phagocytise dead cells & bacteria 
crucial in body's defence against viruses
important in inflammatory response

Question 24

Lymphocytes

Answer 24

25% of WBCs
confer humoral immunity (B cells)
Cell mediated immunity (T cells)

Question 25

Platelets / Thrombocytes

Answer 25

Produced in bone marrow by budding off from megakaryocytes 
no nucleus 
2-4um 
around 1x 10^11 produced each day 
essential for blood clotting