Blood Flashcards
Conducting system
Blood vessels
Functions of cardiovascular system
■ To transport materials to and from cells:
■ oxygen and carbon dioxide
■ nutrients
■ hormones
■ immune system components
■ waste products
■ Maintain Homeostasis
🩸 Contains cells suspended in a fluid called…
Plasma
Tissue type
Connective tissue
5 functions of 🩸
• Transport of dissolved substances
• Regulation of pH and ions
• Restriction of fluid losses at injury sites
• Defense against toxins and pathogens
• Stabilization of body homeostasis
-regulation of pH, osmotic pressure, and temp (removes excess heat)
Plasma
-(more than 90% of plasma is) Water
- Dissolved plasma proteins
- Is similar to, and exchanges fluids with, interstitial fluid
- Is matrix of formed elements
-makes up 50-60% of blood volume
3 types of formed elements
1) Red blood cells (RBCs) or erythrocytes:
■ transport oxygen
2) White blood cells (WBCs) or leukocytes:
■ part of the immune system
3) Platelets:
■ cell fragments involved in clotting
Hemopoiesis/hematopoiesis
■ Process of producing formed elements
■ By myeloid and lymphoid stem cells
Characteristics of blood
■ 38°C (100.4°F) is normal temperature
■ High viscosity
■ Slightly alkaline pH (7.35–7.45)
Whole 🩸
plasma (55%) and formed elements (mostly RBCs (45%))
Serum
Plasma w/o its clotting capability (w/o fibrinogen and other clotting factors)
Interstitial fluid (IF)
same as plasma but with about 25% less protein; it is found in
the interstitium
Lymph
same as interstitial fluid except it is found in lymphatic vessels
🩸volume
■ Blood volume (liters) = 7% of body weight (kilograms):
■ adult male: 5 to 6 liters
■ adult female: 4 to 5 liters
3 classes of plasma proteins
■ Albumins (60%)
■ Globulins (35%)
■ Fibrinogen (4%)
Albumins
■ Are synthesized by the liver
■ Contribute to oncotic pressure
■ Have a buffering potential
■ Transport substances:
■ fatty acids
■ bilirubin
■ thyroid hormones
■ steroid hormones
Globulins
• Antibodies, also called immunoglobulins or Gamma Globulins
-Are synthesized by competent B lymphocyte plasma cells
• Transport globulins (small molecules):
-hormone-binding proteins
-metalloproteins
-apolipoproteins (lipoproteins)
-steroid-binding proteins
-Are synthesized by the liver
Fibrinogen
■ Molecules form clots (inactive clotting protein)
■ Produce long, insoluble strands of fibrin
■ Are synthesized by the liver
■ There are also small amounts of other clotting factor proteins
Serum
■ Liquid part of a blood sample:
■ in which dissolved fibrinogen has converted to solid fibrin
■ Remove fibrin and clotting factors
■ Ca2+ also removed
Solutes
■ Include:
■ Non-Protein Sources of Nitrogen (NPNs)
■ Nutrients
■ Electrolytes
Non-protein nitrogen sources (NPN)
-Include:
-Urea - a metabolic waste produced from deamination of amino acids
-Uric Acid - a metabolic waste produced from the catabolism of nucleic acids
-Creatinine - a metabolic end product of creatine and creatine phosphate
-excreted by kidneys
-kidney disease is often indicated by elevated NPNs
Nutrients
■ Include:
■ Monosaccharides - mainly glucose
■ Amino Acids
■ Fatty Acids
■ Lipoproteins (chylomicrons, HDL, LDL, IDL, VLDL)
■ Vitamins
Electrolytes
■ Include:
■ Na+ - major regulator of osmotic tone
■ Cl –
■ Ca 2+
■ Mg 2+
■ PO4 3-
■ SO4 2-
■ HCO3 –
■ K+
Measuring RBCs
■ Red blood cell count:
■ reports the number of RBCs in 1 microliter whole blood
■ Hematocrit (packed cell volume, PCV):
■ percentage of RBCs in centrifuged whole blood
■ Buffy coat – The thin layer of white blood cells and platelets above the packed RBCs
Normal 🩸 counts
■ RBC:
■ male: 4.5–6.3 million
■ female: 4.2–5.5 million
■ Hematocrit (%):
■ male: 40–54
■ female: 37–47
RBC
-Small and highly specialized disc
-Thin in middle and thicker at edge (biconcave)
Importance of RBC shape and size
-High surface-to-volume ratio:
-quickly absorbs and releases CO2
-Discs bend and flex entering small capillaries:
-7.8 µm RBC passes through 4 µm capillary
-Discs form stacks:
-smoothes flow through narrow blood vessels
Why is there no nucleus or mitochondria in RBCs?
The nucleus is also not required as a mature RBC does not divide.
Mitochondria is absent so that oxygen is not utilised by the RBC and all the oxygen is transported to target areas
Lifespan of RBCs
■ Lack nuclei, mitochondria, other organelles
■ Suffer wear and tear in the cardiovascular system
■ Live about 120 days
Hemoglobin (Hb)
■ Protein molecule, transports respiratory gases
■ Normal hemoglobin (adult male):
■ 14–18 g/dl whole blood
Hemoglobin structure
■ ______________ quaternary structure
■ 4 globular protein subunits (each similar to myoglobin) :
■ 2 alpha chains and 2 beta chains globular
■ These globular subunits are what binds CO2
■ each with 1 molecule of heme
■ each heme contains 1 iron ion which can bind 1 O2 molecule
■ Iron ions easily:
■ associate with oxygen (oxyhemoglobin)
■ or dissociate from iron compounds (deoxyhemoglobin)
Reversible CO2 transport (at lungs)
■ HbCO2 Hb + CO2
■ reaction occurs at the lungs where the PCO2 is low
Reversible O2 transport (at tissues)
■ HbO2 Hb + O2
■ Reaction occurs at the tissues where the PO2 is low
■ the reaction is also enhanced by:
■ Body temperature
■ P CO2
■ ¯ pH
■ ¯ PO2
Carbaminohemoglobin
■ With low oxygen (peripheral capillaries):
■ hemoglobin releases O2 into surrounding tissues
■ binds carbon dioxide and carries it to lungs
Reversible CO2 Transport (at tissues)
■ The binding of O2 and CO2 are reversible and appropriate:
■ Hb + CO2 HbCO2 (Carbamino Hb)
■ reaction occurs at the tissues, where the PCO2 is high
Reversible O2 Transport (at lungs)
■ Hb + O2 HbO2 (Oxy hemoglobin)
■ Reaction occurs at the lungs where the PO2 is high
Carbon monoxide
■ O2 competes with CO (carbon monoxide) which has a higher affinity for Hb then O2
■ Hb + CO HbCO
Carboxyhemoglobin
Blocker of O2 transport
Anemia
■ Hematocrit or hemoglobin levels are below normal
Recycling RBCs
■ 1% of circulating RBCs wear out per day:
■ about 3 million RBCs per second
■ Macrophages of liver, spleen, and bone marrow:
■ monitor infections (tissue homeostasis, wound/bone healing liver inflammation)
■ engulf RBCs before membranes rupture (hemolyze)
Hemoglobinuria
Hemoglobin and its breakdown products in urine due to excess hemolysis in blood stream
Hematuria
whole red blood cells in urine due to kidney or tissue damage
Phagocytes break hemoglobin into components:
■ globular proteins to amino acids
■ heme to biliverdin
Iron recycling
■ Large quantities of free iron are toxic
■ Iron is bound to:
■ transport proteins (transferrin)
■ storage proteins (ferritin and hemosiderin) in muscle, liver and spleen
■ Transported back to the bone marrow by transferrin
Breakdown of biliverdin
■ Biliverdin (green) is converted to
bilirubin (yellow)
■ Bilirubin is:
■ excreted by liver (bile)
■ jaundice is caused by bilirubin buildup
■ converted by intestinal bacteria to urobilin (yellow)
■ urobilin is reabsorbed in the blood and then excreted by the liver
■ Any remaining urobilin is converted to stericobilin which gives feces its brown color