Blood Flashcards
What are the components of the blood?
Blood is a unique tissue, based on a liquid called plasma. The plasma carries red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets as well as other dissolved substances.
What is plasma?
Plasma is a yellow liquid and the primary transport method of all the contents of the blood, where they are transported to cells throughout the body.
What are red blood cells?
Red blood cells are the most common blood cell. They pick up oxygen from the air in your lungs and carry it to the cells where it is needed. They have a large surface area and are packed with haemoglobin to carry as much oxygen as possible.
What are white blood cells?
White blood cells are far larger than red blood cells, and form part of the bodies defence system against pathogens and harmful microorganisms.
What are platelets?
Platelets are small cell fragments that clot up at wounds to stop blood loss.
What are arteries?
The arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to your organs. They have thick walls containing muscle and elastic fibre that keeps the blood under high pressure.
What are veins?
Veins carry deoxygenated blood from the organs to your heart. They have much thinner walls and use valves to prevent back flow as the blood is squeezed towards the heart.
What are capillaries?
Capillaries are a huge network of tiny vessels linking the arteries and veins. They are narrow and have very thin walls to allow oxygen and glucose to diffuse easily out of them to be delivered to cells.
What is double circulation?
The human circulatory system is split between two transport systems. One carries deoxygenated blood to your lungs and back to exchange carbon dioxide and the other carries oxygenated blood to all the other organs of the body.
