Blood Flashcards
Name of the system that blood is part of
Haemopoietic system
Temperature of blood at rest
About 38oC
Reasons why blood temperature may exceed 40oC
Prolonged exercise
Fever
Comparison of blood to water
5 times more viscous than water
pH of blood at rest
Slightly alkaline
Around 7.4 (7.35 - 7.45)
pH of blood during high intensity exercise
Lower than normal
Can be as low as 6.7
Acidic
What percentage of body mass is blood volume
Around 7%
Components to cardiovascular system and their general role
Heart
- The pump
Blood vessels
- The conductive system
Blood
- The fluid medium
Functions of blood
Transport
Regulates body temperature
Buffers and balances acid base
Defends against pathogens and toxins
Restricts fluid loss at injury sites
Hydrolic functions….. (reproduction)
Why does blood pH change during exercise
Acetic acid built up
This lowers the pH of the blood making it more acidic
Blood distrubution rate at rest
5L/min
Blood distrubution rate during exercise
20-40L/min
Where is the majority of blood at any given time
In the veins
Venipuncture
Phlebotomy
When whole blood is taken a superficial vein
Reasons for using venipuncture to take blood
Superficial veins are easy to locate
They have thinner walls then arteries
Have lower blood pressure which allows quick wound sealing
Other areas used to take blood
Tip of the finger
Ear
Toe
Heel
Why are blood samples taken
Can check almost anything with a blood test
Blood goes everywhere and comes into contact with every part of the body
Why do veins have thinner walls than arteries
Deal with less pressure
Serum
Plasma without the clotting factors
Amount of plasma in blood
46-63%
Pecentage of formed elements in blood
37-54%
Plasma
Transport medium
Carries plasma proteins and other things like glucose
Mainly H2O
Percentage of plasma that is water
92%
Formed elements in blood
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Platelets
White band when spun in a centrafuge between plasma and red part is white blood cells and platelets
Haematocrit definition
Medical term
Describes the percentage of cellular elements in the total blood volume
Normal haematocrit values
Men - 40-52%
Women - 36-48%
Polycythaemia
Excess red blood cell production
Used of measuring haematocrit values
Can give information for the diagnosis of polycythaemia
Other name for red blood cells
Erthrocytes
Red blood cells
Highly specialised
Contain haemoglobin
Lack most organelles
Incapable of self repair
Life span of red blood cell
120 days
How far does a red blood cell travel in it’s lifetime
700 miles
Reason for lack of organelles in red blood cells
Mitochondria would steal oxygen that is being transported
Without other organelles their energy demands are low
Why can red blood cells not repair themselves or replicate themselves
Nuclei and other organelles required have been removed to make it more effecient
Where do red blood cells get their energy from
Anaerobic respiration
Uses glucose absorbed from surrounding plasma
Percentage of reb blood cells out of all cell in the body
Makes up 1/3 of all cells
Structure of red blood cells
Bi-concave disc
Benefits of red blood cell shape
Large surface area to volume ratio aids exchange
Can stack up and fall apart quickly - stacks more effeciently travel through blood vessels just larger than RBCs
Can bend and flex to squeeze trough capilaries narrower then the RBCs normal size
Haemoglobin
Intracellular protein in red blood cells
Each contains four haeme pigment complexes
Has a complex quaternary shape
How many molecules of oxygen does one red blood cell carry
About 1 billion
Haeme
Pigment complex on haemoglobin
Interacts with oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin
Iron-oxygen interaction is very weak so can be seperated easily without damage
Ways oxygen is transported in blood (%)
Dissolved in blood (about 1.5%)
Attached to haemoglobin (about 98.5%)
Ways carbon dioxide is transported in blood (%)
Dissolved in blood (~7%)
As bicarbonate ions by reaction with water (~70%)
Attached to haemoglobin (~23%)
What is formed when CO2 attaches to haemoglobin
Carbaminohaemoglobin
Carboxyhaemoglobin
Formed when carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin
What percentage of carboxyhaemoglobin is required to be fatal
Other effects
50%
Seizures and comas
Anemia
When blood doesn’t have enough haemoglobin
Often treated by taking in more iron to make up for lack of haemoglobin