Blood & The Cardiovascular System Flashcards
Q: What are the three main functions of blood?
A:
- Transportation
- Regulation
- Protection
Q: What are the main transportation functions of blood?
A:
Carries oxygen from lungs to cells
Moves carbon dioxide from cells to lungs
Delivers nutrients from digestive system
Distributes hormones
Transports heat and waste products
Q: What are the regulatory functions of blood?
A:
Maintains body fluid balance
Controls pH through buffers
Regulates body temperature
Manages cellular water content
Controls osmotic pressure
Q: What are the protective functions of blood?
A:
Forms clots to prevent blood loss
White blood cells fight infection
Contains protective proteins (antibodies, interferons, complement)
Q: What are buffers in blood?
A: Chemicals that convert strong acids or bases into weak ones to help control pH
Q: How does blood protect against infection?
A: Through white blood cells performing phagocytosis and protective proteins like antibodies and interferons
Q: What does blood transport from the digestive system?
Nutrients
Q: What are the two main components of whole blood?
A:
1. Blood Plasma (55%)
2. Formed Elements (45%)
Q: What are the formed elements in blood?
A:
Red Blood Cells (RBCs): >99% of formed elements
White Blood Cells (WBCs): <1%
Platelets: <1%
Q: What is the buffy coat in centrifuged blood?
A: A thin layer between plasma and RBCs made up of WBCs and platelets.
Q: What fluid surrounds body cells and is constantly renewed by blood?
A: Interstitial fluid.
Q: What is blood plasma?
A: The liquid part of blood, mostly water with dissolved nutrients, hormones, and waste products.
Q: What are the functions of blood related to oxygen and nutrients?
A:
Blood carries oxygen from the lungs and nutrients from the digestive system to body cells.
Q: How does blood help with waste removal?
A: Blood moves carbon dioxide and waste from cells to interstitial fluid, then transports the waste to organs like the lungs, kidneys, and skin for elimination.
Q: Why is blood considered a connective tissue?
A: It has cells suspended in a liquid extracellular matrix called blood plasma.
Q: What percentage of body weight does blood constitute?
A: 8%
Q: What is the main component of blood plasma?
A: Water (91.5%)
Q: What percentage of blood plasma is made up of proteins, and what are the main types?
A: 7% proteins, including:
Albumins (54%): Helps with water balance
Globulins (38%): Includes immune proteins like antibodies
Fibrinogen (7%): Important for clotting
Q: What does the remaining 1.5% of blood plasma consist of?
A: Solutes, including electrolytes, nutrients, gases, hormones, and waste products.
Q: What are the formed elements in blood, and what percentage does it make up?
A: Formed elements make up 45% of blood and include red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
Q: How many red blood cells are typically found per microliter of blood?
A: 4.8–5.4 million.
Q: What are the main types of white blood cells and their functions?
A:
Neutrophils (60–70%): Fight bacteria
Lymphocytes (20–25%): Handle specific immunity (e.g., viruses)
Monocytes (3–8%): Clean up debris and fight infection
Eosinophils (2–4%): Fight parasites and allergies
Basophils (0.5–1%): Involved in inflammation and allergic responses
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Q: How many platelets are typically found per microliter of blood, and what is their role?
A: 150,000–400,000 platelets help with blood clotting.
Q: What is erythropoiesis?
A: The process of red blood cell production that occurs in red bone marrow
Q: What is EPO and what does it do?
A: Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone released by kidneys that stimulates red blood cell production
Q: What is the process of RBC development?
A:
1. Begins with proerythroblasts in bone marrow
2. Cells divide and produce hemoglobin
3. Cells eject nucleus to become reticulocytes
4. Reticulocytes enter bloodstream and mature into RBCs within 1-2 days
Q: What is hypoxia and what causes it?
A:
Hypoxia is low oxygen levels, caused by:
High altitudes
Anemia
Poor circulation
Q: What happens when the body detects hypoxia?
A:
1. Kidneys detect low oxygen
2. Release EPO
3. EPO stimulates bone marrow 4. More RBCs are produced
5. Oxygen levels return to normal
Q: What is the main function of hemoglobin in RBCs?
A: To carry oxygen to all cells and transport some carbon dioxide to the lungs
Q: Why do mature RBCs have a biconcave shape?
A: Because they eject their nucleus during development
Q: How many iron ions does each hemoglobin molecule contain?
A: 4 iron ions, allowing it to bind 4 oxygen molecules.
Q: What are the main structural features of red blood cells (RBCs)?
A:
No nucleus
No mitochondria or organelles
Biconcave discs
Q: Why do RBCs lack a nucleus and mitochondria?
A: To maximize space for hemoglobin (approximately 280 million hemoglobin molecules per cell) and to carry oxygen more efficiently.
Q: What is the primary function of red blood cells?
A: To transport oxygen from the lungs to tissues and carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs.
Q: How does hemoglobin transport carbon dioxide?
A: It carries 23% of carbon dioxide by binding to the globin part of hemoglobin, with most CO₂ dissolved in plasma or as bicarbonate.
Q: What triggers the release of erythropoietin (EPO)?
A: Hypoxia (low oxygen levels in tissues).
Q: What is the role of nitric oxide (NO) in relation to hemoglobin?
A: Hemoglobin binds NO, and when released, NO causes vasodilation, improving blood flow and oxygen delivery.
Q: Describe the structure of hemoglobin.
A: It consists of 4 polypeptide chains (2 alpha and 2 beta), each with a heme group containing an iron ion (Fe²⁺) that binds oxygen.
Q: What happens to oxygen in the process of aerobic respiration?
A: Oxygen released by RBCs enters interstitial fluid and is utilized by cells for aerobic respiration in mitochondria.
Q: What is the shape of a red blood cell (RBC), and why is it important?
A: RBCs are biconcave discs, which increase surface area for oxygen exchange and allow them to squeeze through narrow blood vessels.
Q: What is the size of a typical red blood cell (RBC)?
A: About 8 µm in diameter.
Q: What protein is packed inside RBCs, and how many molecules are present in an RBC?
A: Hemoglobin; each RBC contains about 280 million hemoglobin molecules.
Q: What is the structure of hemoglobin?
A:
Made of 4 polypeptide chains:
2 alpha chains
2 beta chains
Each chain has a heme group.
Q: What is found at the center of the heme group in hemoglobin?
A: An iron ion (Fe²⁺) that binds oxygen.
Q: How many oxygen molecules can each hemoglobin molecule carry, and why?
A: 4 oxygen molecules, since each heme group (4 per hemoglobin) can bind one oxygen molecule.
Q: What surrounds the iron ion in the heme group?
A: A porphyrin ring, made of carbon and nitrogen.
Q: What happens to oxygen bound to hemoglobin?
A: It is taken up in the lungs and released into tissues where needed for cellular respiration.
Q: How does hemoglobin help regulate blood flow?
A: Through the binding and release of nitric oxide (NO), which causes vasodilation when released.
Q: What are the benefits of NO-induced vasodilation?
A:
Improved blood flow
Enhanced oxygen delivery
Reduced blood pressure
Q: Where does carbon dioxide come from in the body?
A: From cellular respiration (metabolism) when cells break down nutrients for energy.
Q: How is carbon dioxide transported in the blood?
A:
23% binds to hemoglobin
Most dissolves in blood plasma as bicarbonate ions
Q: What is the pathway of CO₂ from cells to elimination?
A:
1. Produced by cellular metabolism
2. Moves into interstitial fluid
3. Enters bloodstream
4. Transported to lungs
5. Exhaled during breathing
Q: What is blood doping?
A: Increasing RBC count to enhance athletic performance by improving oxygen delivery to muscles.
Q: What are the risks of artificial blood doping?
A:
Increased blood viscosity
Higher blood pressure
Increased risk of strokes
Makes it harder for heart to pump blood
Q: How long do red blood cells live and why?
A: About 120 days; they die due to plasma membrane wear and tear and inability to repair (no nucleus).
Q: Which organs remove dead RBCs from circulation?
A: The spleen, liver, and red bone marrow (via macrophages).
Q: What happens to the globin part of hemoglobin during breakdown?
A: It’s broken down into amino acids, which are recycled to make new proteins.
Q: What happens to the iron from heme during RBC breakdown?
A:
1. Iron is removed (as Fe³⁺)
2. Binds to transferrin for transport
3. Stored in ferritin in liver or muscle
4. Reused in bone marrow for new RBC production
Q: What happens to the non-iron portion of heme?
A: Converted to:
Biliverdin (green pigment)
Then to bilirubin (yellow pigment)
Q: What is the pathway of bilirubin breakdown?
A: 1. Transported to liver 2. Released into bile 3. Moves to intestines 4. Converted to urobilinogen by bacteria 5. Either absorbed back into blood (becomes urobilin in urine) or becomes stercobilin in feces
Q: What gives urine its yellow color?
A: Urobilin (from urobilinogen)
Q: What gives feces its brown color?
A: Stercobilin (from urobilinogen)