blood test Flashcards
what is the function of the blood?
Transportation of:
- Nutrients, dissolved gasses, and hormones
Regulation of:
- Body temperature, PH levels, fluid balance, electrolyte balance
Protection:
- From diseases, white blood cells clot cuts to prevent infection and blood loss
how much blood does the human body contain?
- 4-6L
what percentage of the blood is fluid and cells?
- 45% consists of living cells
- 55% is fluid called plasma
blood plasma
- A clear, straw coloured fluid that is 90% water and 10% dissolved substances that include acids, amino acids, salts, hormones, enzymes and vitamins
albumin
- The most abundant of the plasma proteins; keeps water from leaving the blood and entering the surrounding cells by osmosis.
Globulins
- Some are involved in transporting proteins and other materials from one part of the body to another; others called antibodies, are proteins that bind together and help destroy foreign substances in the body
Fibrinogen
- Is involved in the clotting of blood
Red blood cells
- Carry O2 and CO2
- Produced from cells in the bone marrow and become filled with hemoglobin
- the hemoglobin forces out their nuclei and organelles therefore mature red blood cells have no nucleus
- the hemoglobin contains iron proteins that carry oxygen from lungs to the body tissues and give red blood cells their colour
Anemia
- A deficiency in red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood
White Blood Cells
- Their main function is to protect the body against invasion by foreign cells or substances
- They are produced in the bone marrow
5 main types of WBC
- Lymphocytes
- Eosinophils
- Basophils
- Monocytes
- Neutrophils
platelets
- Are cell fragments involved in blood clotting
- They are formed by the pinching off of bits of cytoplasm from large cells within the bone marrow
blood clotting
- The solidification of blood at the site of an injured blood vessel
what are the main steps involved in blood clotting?
- The ruptured platelets of the blood vessel release on enzyme, called thromboplastin
- Thromboplastin initiates a series of enzymatic reactions which result in conversion of prothrombin, a plasma protein, into thrombin
- Thrombin, an enzyme, converts soluble fibrinogen into insoluble strands of fibrin
- Fibrin forms a network of strands that trap red blood cells and platelets to form a clot
Antigens
- Proteins that stick out of the surface of red blood cells
- There are 2 types of antigens ( a & b)
A blood
A antigens, B antibodies
B blood
B antigens, B antibodies
AB blood
AB antigens, no antibodies
O blood
no antigens, AB antibodies
Antibodies
Are produced in response to “foreign antigens”. If a foreign substance enters the blood, antibodies will be produced and circulate in the blood to bind to the foreign antigens.
Agglutination
- Allows other immune cells to more easily destroy the foreign blood
- If the immune system does not act quickly, agglutination of the foreign blood can create blood clots that can clog arteries in the body and cause a stroke or heart attack
What blood type is the universal donor?
“O” because it has no antigens so the victims antibodies will not be able to attach and agglutinate the donors blood
What blood is the universal receiver?
“AB” blood because it has no antibodies to attack and agglutinate the donors blood.
RH factor
- An antigen present in the RBC’s of about 85%-90% of the human population
What are the concerns for pregnant women who is RH- ?
If a woman is RH- and her blood crosses the plancenta, the RH- blood will fight the RH+ blood when it enters the blood stream because of the antibodies
“A” blood can donate to…
A, AB
“B” blood can donate to…
B, AB
“AB” blood can donate to…
A, B
“O” blood can donate to…
A, B, AB, O
“A” blood can receive blood from…
A, O
“B” blood can receive blood from…
B, O
“AB” blood can receive blood from…
A, B, AB, O
“O” blood can receive blood from…
O
