blood recap

Question 1

plasma properties

Answer 1

pale, yellowish liquid, ~90% water

Question 2

what does plasma contain

Answer 2

important dissolved substances
- products of digestion
- soluble proteins
- mineral salts
- excretory products
- hormones

Question 3

function of red blood cell

Answer 3

transport oxygen from lungs to all cells in the body

Question 4

characteristics of rbc

Answer 4

circular, flattened and biconcave discs
- higher sa to v ratio
lack nucleus
- carry more haemoglobin
haemoglobin
- combines reversibly with oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin

Question 5

appearance of white blood cell

Answer 5

larger, colourless, contains nucleus, irregular shape, can change shape

Question 6

type of wbc

Answer 6

phagocytes: ingest and digest foreign particles
lymphocytes: produce antibodies to protect body from disease-causing organisms

Question 7

platelet appearance

Answer 7

irregularly shaped, membrane bound fragments of cytoplasm from bone marrow cells

Question 8

what do platelets do

Answer 8

clot blood

Question 9

agglutination

Answer 9

rbc stick together in large clumps, undergoing haemolysis, spilling its contents causing serious damage to kidneys

Question 10

blood clotting process

Answer 10

damaged blood vessels and tissues release thrombinkinase which catalyses the conversion of plasma proteins prothrombin into thrombin in presense of calcium ions which in turn catalyses the conversion of soluble plasma protein fibrinogen into insoluble threads of fibrin, which traps rbcs and the whole mass forms a clot or scab to prevent further entry of microorganisms