Blood and Clotting Flashcards
1
Q
what is blood?
A
- complex fluid containing cellular and fluid parts
- contains erythrocytes (rbc) and leukocytes (wbc)
2
Q
how can blood be separated?
A
Centrifugation at 10000Gs
- anticoagulant prevents clotting
- dense parts form at bottom of tube = rbcs
- thin layer of wbcs and platelets in middle
- at top is cell free plasma = liquid
3
Q
what is haematocrit?
A
- the amount of rbcs in blood
- can be measured by measuring height of centrifuge tube and height of rbc portion
- divide rbc portion by height of tube to find haematocrit as a %
4
Q
what is plasma?
A
- watery solution of electrolytes, plasma proteins, carbohydrates and lipids
- ECF
- contains plasma proteins involved in coagulation cascade:
- albumin: prevalent but low molecular weight
- fibrinogen: important in clotting
- globulins: 10x size of albumin
- other coagulation factors
5
Q
how can plasma be separated?
A
- electrophoresis
- pass current through sample and proteins are separated based on molecular weight and charge
- turn gel 90 degrees after first run to further separate out the proteins
6
Q
what are erythrocytes (rbcs)?
A
- most abundant element in blood = haematocrit
- non-nucleated biconcave cells to maximise SA:V
- shape maintained by cytoskeleten being anchored to plasma membrane via glycophorin and Band 3 Cl/HCO3 exchange
- cytoskeleton made of spectrin, actin, p55 and protein 4.1
- forces exerted on rbc via capillaries can damage cell, but anchoring system maintains its integrity
7
Q
what are the functions of erythrocytes?
A
- O2 carriage from lungs to systemic system
- CO2 carriage from tissue to lungs
- buffering of acids and bases
8
Q
what are granulocyte leukocytes (wbcs)?
A
- granular in nature
- neutrophils: phagocytose bacteria
- eosinophils: combat parasites and viruses
- basophils: release IL-4, histamine, heparin and peroxidase
9
Q
what are non-granular leukocytes?
A
- lymphocytes: mature into T cells and B cells
- monocytes: macrophages and dendritic cells
10
Q
what are platelets?
A
- they bud off from megakaryocytes in bone marrow (TPO (Thrombopoietin) and IL-3 dependent)
- sinusoidal capillary has megakaryocytes extending through them
- there are 150,000-450,000 platelets/um of blood
11
Q
what is the negative feedback mechanism of platelet budding?
A
- each platelet budding from megakaryocyte has a receptor for TPO
- abundant platelets bind to abundant TPO receptors so that TPO binds to platelet surface
- no more TPO is available to generate megakaryocutes
- there are less megakaryocytes for platelets to bud off from, so less platelets are ade
- less platelet receptors bind to TPO so TPO stimulates megakaryocytes to increase platelet production
12
Q
what is the structure of platelets?
A
- nucleus-free fragments
- contains microtubules, mitochondira, lysosomes, peroxisomes, a-granules and dense core granules
- external coat rich in platelet receptors for TPO
- inner skeleton is a circumferential band of tubulin microtubules
- tubulin maintains spherical shape when platelet is resting and reorganises them when they are activated
13
Q
what are alpha-granules?
A
- secrete fibrinogen and von Willebrand Factor (vWF) and clotting factor 5
14
Q
what do dense core granules contain?
A
- ATP
- ADP
- serotonin - causes recruitment of other platelets
- Ca2+
15
Q
what is blood viscosity?
A
- resistance of a fluid to a change in shape (opposition to flow)
- measures resistance to sliding of shear fluid layers
- there is a shear force generated when layers slideover one another
16
Q
what 5 factors does blood viscosity depend upon?
A
- haematocrit
- fibrinogen plasma concentration
- vessel radius: as vessel radius changes, viscosity changes
- linear velocity: speed at which blood passes through vessel
- temperature
17
Q
how does haematocrit affect blood viscosity?
A
- plasma is 0% has it has no rbc and has steepest curve: the highest flow of driving pressure (100mL/s)
- haematocrit of whole blood is 36% and flow is 20mL/s
- whole blood varies so may have higher haematocrit e.g. 66% so a slower rate
- haematocrit is usually 30-50%