Blood Flashcards
Is blood liquid connective tissue?
Yes
Shortness of breath, lethargy, paleness, high heart rate, tiredness and light headedness are likely to be side effects of what?
Anaemia
Blood is liquid connective tissue, made up of what 2 things?
Cells
Matrix (plasma)
What do you call the plasma part of blood without the clotting factors?
Serum
Name 2 ways of obtaining blood:
Thumb/heal prick - e.g. for blood glucose
Venepuncture - directly from vein for a larger sample
What are the 3 functions of blood?
Transport
Protection
Regulates
Name 4 things the blood transports
Oxygen, nutrients, WBCs, hormones, CO2, H2O, waste products, heat
Name 3 ways blood protects you:
Clotting
Immunity/defence
Inflammation (taking WBCs to an infected area)
What 4 things does blood regulate?
Fluids, pH, temperature, hormones
How does the viscosity of blood effect its function?
The thicker it is the slower its flow
How does the volume of blood affect the body?
A high volume results in a high BP
Name the 3 properties of blood
Viscosity
Osmolarity (concentration - determined by electrolytes)
Volume
How many litres of blood do adults have?
4-6L
What % of blood is clear plasma?
55%
What % of blood is made up of cells?
45%
What does centrifuging do?
Separate cells from plasma
If you lose lots of blood, does the % of RBCs go up or down?
Down. If you have lots of blood it goes up.
What is haematocrit?
% of total blood volume made up of red cells
mens is higher
Name 5 plasma components
Nutrients Gases Electrolytes (sodium is 90% of these) Hormones Plasma proteins
Organic waste products (urea, creatinine, uric acid, toxic breakdown products to be removed by kidneys)
What is the most abundant plasma protein?
Albumin
Where is albumin produced?
The liver
What does albumin do?
Influences blood pressure, flow and fluid balance
It is ismotically active as pulls in water, helps to transport other proteins by binding to them
Other than albumin, name 2 plasma proteins and where they are produced:
Fibrinogen and clotting factors - produced in liver
Globulins - produced by plasma cells (immunity, fight bacteria)
What plasma protein provides us with immunity?
Globulin
Do RBCs have a nucleus?
No
How many RBCs are there to every 1 WBC?
700 red blood cells to every one white cell
What type of blood cell is a erythrocyte?
A red blood cell
What gases do erythrocytes (RBCs) transport?
Oxygen and carbon dioxide
What type of cell is disc shaped with a thick rim, to increase its surface area/volume ration?
This cell also cannot multiply and only has a 120 day life span:
RBCs/erythrocytes - have no nucleus or organelles
What substance makes up 1/3 of the cytoplasm in a erythrocyte (RBC)?
Haemoglobin - this is what makes it red
What substance do erythrocytes (RBCs) contain that produce carbonic acid from CO2 and water?
Carbonic anhydrase enzyme
Where are RBCs broken down and recycled?
Spleen
How many chains (globins) are there in haemoglobin?
4: 2 alpha and 2 beta globin chains
In each globin chain in haemoglobin, what does it contain to bind with oxygen?
Haem with iron
How many oxygen molecules can each haemoglobin molecule carry?
4 - as 4 chains
Foetal haemoglobin is different to adult. In what way?
It has higher affinity to o2.
How many molecules of haemoglobin does each RBC/erythrocyte contain?
Over a million
each molecule has 4 chains and therefore 4 o2
so even more oxygen
Haematocrit is the % of blood volume made up of RBCs.
What are the consequences of someone having a low haemoglobin concentration in the whole blood?
Low haemoglobin = low oxygen
What are the normal RBC count in a man?
4.5-6.6 per litre
Why do women have a lower RBC count to men?
Less testosterone (androgens) to stimulate RBC production Menstrual losses
What is the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate? (ESR)
The time it takes for RBCs to settle in a sample
In men it should be their age divided by two
In women, age plus ten divided by two
What can increase the ESR in a blood sample? (4 reasons)
Cancer if widespread in body
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Kidney Disease
Severe or chronic infection
What are leukocytes?
WBCs
There are lots of types of leukocytes/WBCs, which are usually the biggest kind?
Monocytes
Which leukocytes (WBCs) are granulocytes?
The grainy phils =
neutrophils - 60-70%
eosinophils - 2-4%
basophils - less than 1%
Which types of leukocytes are agranulocytes?
Non grainy
Lymphocytes and monocytes
What type of granulocyte (a type of leukocyte) increases in bacterial infections and undergoes phagocytosis (comes out as pus)?
Neutrophils
lots of these, come out as pus, increases if infected - “neutralise infection’
What type of granulocyte increases in parasitic infections or allergies, such as asthma?
Eosinophils
E for Eleanor who has asthma
What type of granulocyte increases in chicken pox, sinusitis and diabetes?
Basophils
hardly any so increases in things hardly get
There are two type of leukocyte - granulocyte and agranulocytes.
For which one would you take antibiotics if it increased?
Granulocyte as non-viral infections
What type of agranulocyte increases in infections and immune responses, and destroys cancer and foreign cells and virally infected cells?
Lymphocytes
What type of agranulocyte becomes tissue macrophages? What does this mean?
Monocytes. As they are biggest think MACRO.
Macrophages start in blood then move to liver or spleen, they travel round, engulf and digest bacteria
Which type of blood cell is there usually 4-11 x 10 per litre of in the blood?
WBCs/leukocytes
What does leukocytosis mean?
Increase in WBCs
What leukocytes increase for appendicitis, bacterial infection or haemorrhage?
Neutrophils
What type of leukocytes increase for chronic infections?
Lymphocytes
What type of leukocytes increase for bronchial asthma, hayfever, tapeworm or hook worm?
Eosinophils
What type of leukocytes increase for haemolytic anaemia and chicken pox?
Basophils
What type of leukocytes increase for malaria or typhoid?
Monocytes
What do you call fragments of blood cells that play a major role in coagulation and clotting?
Platelets
What in the blood can secret clotting factors, factors for endothelial repair, vasoconstrictors in broken vessels, and can form temporary platelet plugs and dissolve old blood clots?
Platelets
What can attract WBCs to sites of inflammation so they can phagocyteose bacteria?
Platelets
What does haemopoiesis mean?
Blood cell production
Haemopoiesis (blood cell production) occurs in the tissues. Which tissues do these occur in before birth?
In embryo - the yolk sac
Until birth - the liver and spleen
Haemopoiesis (blood cell production) occurs in the tissues. Which 2 tissues do these usually occur in?
Red Bone Marrow = RBCs, WBCs and platelets
Lymphoid Tissues = WBC production and maturation
Hypoxia triggers the kidney and liver to produce what hormone? And what does this hormone stimulate?
EPO
Stimulates RBC production
What does erythropoiesis mean?
RBC/erythrocyte production
How many RBCs can be produced a second?
2.5million
How long does it take for an erythrocyte to develop (reduce in cell size, synthesise haemoglobin and lose nucleus)?
3-5 days
What are reticulocytes?
What does it imply if they are circulating in the blood?
Young red blood cells.
Implies released early and been blood loss. Couldn’t wait 3-5 days to develop
How long do erythrocytes last for?
120 days
Erythrocytes have fragile membranes. Why?
so they can burst in narrow channels in the spleen
What do macrophages in the spleen and liver do to old red blood cells?
Digest cell components and convert haem to bilirubin.
This becomes bile product in faeces.
If faeces is no longer brown, what could this indicate is wrong with the blood?
Erythrocyte breakdown, as bile turns it brown
What type of feedback mechanism is erythrocyte homeostasis?
Negative Feedback
Outline erythrocyte homeostasis
Drop in RBC count Hypoxemia to kidneys Increases EPO Stimulates bone marrow in 3-4 days = increased RBC count
Name 3 causes of hypoxia
lung disease smoking high altitude increase in exercise bleeding
When can increasing RBCs due to hypoxia be a bad thing?
In smokers. Blood becomes too thick, moves slower = increased risk of clotting, thrombosis and strokes
What do we need iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid for?
RBC production
What is red meat, shellfish, dried fruit, nuts and legumes good for?
Iron and RBC production
What is needed for RBC development and division?
Folic acid
A problem with RBCs or haemoglobin can reduce the body’s ability to carry oxygen with blood. What is this known as?
Anaemia
Decreased RBC production or haemoglobin synthesis, inadequate nutrition, loss of blood and RBC destruction are 4 causes of what?
Anaemia
sickle cell disease is haemolytic anaemia where RBC destruction happens
Name the 6 types of anaemia
Diet Induced Macrocytic/microcytic Pernicious macrocytic Haemorrhagic normocytic Haemolytic Aplastic
What is macrocytic anaemia?
Not enough vitamin B or folic acid - can’t break down RBCs so MACRO
What is microcytic anaemia?
RBCs too small due to lack of iron
What is pernicious anaemia?
Where people can’t absorb vitamin B, have to inject otherwise macrophages can’t break down cell as TOO BIG
What is Haemorrhagic/normocytic anaemia?
lost blood quickly so not enough RBCs
What is haemolytic anaemia?
where RBCs break down, e.g. sickle cell
What is aplastic anaemia?
A problem with bone marrow producing enough RBCs
Where are platelets reduced?
Bone marrow
What is the function of MEGAkaryocytes in the bone marrow?
Platelets split off them as cell fragments from the cytoplasm
How long do platelets last for?
4 days
Erythrocytes contain haemoglobin, which plays an important role in the transport of what?
Oxygen
If there is not enough RBCs, what can this cause?
Anaemia
What blood cells contain a large nucleus?
leukocytes
What % of blood volume do RBCs make up in healthy people?
45%
