Blood Components and Vessels Flashcards
1
Q
Name the 4 blood components:
A
- Red Blood Cells
- White Blood Cells
- Platelets
- Plasma
2
Q
Job and adaptation of the plasma
A
Plasma is a straw coloured liquid that carries everything within the blood:
- Hormones
- RBC
- WBC
- Proteins
- CO2
- Antibodies and Antitoxins
3
Q
Job and adaptations of WBC
A
White Blood Cells are part of the immune system in helping the body fight agains pathogens and diseases..
- Phagocytes = engulfs pathogens
- Lymphocytes = multiply to kill pathogen
4
Q
Job and adaptation of platelets:
A
Platelets are small fragments of cells produced by bone marrow.
- they have proteins on their surface which enable them to stick to the breaks in a blood vessel and clump together
- they secrete proteins that leads to a series of chemical reactions that causes a blood clot which plugs a wound
5
Q
Jobs and adaptations of a RBC
A
Red blood cells are cells that carry o2::
- they have no nucleus so they can carry more o2
- they are bioconcave which increases the surface area
- they have a protein called haemoglobin (red colour). It reacts w o2 to produce oxyhemoglobin and then breaks down to release oxygen to cells.
6
Q
Arteries.
A
Arteries are vessels that carry blood away from the heart
- they have thick walls made up of elastical fibres and muscles to help them cope with high blood pressure
- they have a small lumen
7
Q
Veins
A
Veins carry blood towards the heart
- They have a large lumen despite the fact they only deal with low bp
- they don’t need any elastical fibres or excess muscle
- they have valves that prevent backflow of blood
8
Q
Capillaries
A
Arteries branch off into many capillaries
- Only 1cm thick so it minimises the distance needed for gases to travel which increases the rate of diffusion
- Permeable membrane so gases can exchange
- They are extremely small so they can surround each cell to provide it with food and oxygen and take away waste materials such as CO2
