Ch. 8 - Blood/Immunity Flashcards
What type of tissue is blood? Why?
Connective Tissue: it links the body’s vital organs.
What does blood consist of (two distinct elements)? What are the subcategories of each?
- Plasma
- Water
- Dissolved GASES
- Proteins
- NUTRIENTS
- Sugars
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- HORMONES
- WASTE Products - Formed Portion/Cellular Component
- Red blood cells
- White blood cells
- Platelets
What are the four main components of blood?
- Plasma
- White blood cells
- Red blood cells
- Platelets
What is plasma?
Mainly water with dissolved materials.
How much of our blood is composed of plasma?
~55% of the volume
Plasma contains three types of plasma proteins—what do they do?
- Albumins (for osmotic pressure; maintain H2O levels)
- Globulins (produce antibodies)
- Fibrinogen (inactive, used for blood clotting)
What is another name for red blood cells? Name of their shape?
Erythorycytes: biconcave
How much blood is composed of RBCs?
44% of total volume
What are RBCs specialized for?
Oxygen transport and carbon dioxide transport
What allows RBCs to carry oxygen so well?
- Mature mammalian RBCs have no nucleus
- Each cell instead has about 280 million iron-containing hemoglobin molecules that transport oxygen
In what conditions are RBCs produced?
In response to lower levels of O2 reaching tissues.
What is polycythemia?
Condition of having more than normal number of RBCs. Often happens if one lives in a higher altitude.
Where are RBCs produced? What is their life span? What breaks them down?
Production: bone marrow
Lifespan: ~120 days
Broken down: spleen/liver
What is hemoglobin?
Specialized respiratory pigment (of iron) that chemically binds with O2, and diffuses O2 into needed cells.
Also takes some CO2 that diffusing into blood from other cells.
Can also carry H.
Why is hemoglobin important?
Important on delivering O2 to tissues and cells. Takes some CO2 to lungs.
What is anemia?
- Too few red blood cells
- Too little hemoglobin in red blood cells
What is the result of anemia?
Oxygen deficiency in the body
What are the symptoms of anemia?
Fatigue and pale skin.
What causes anemia?
Lack of iron in the diet.
What is sickle cell anemia?
- Genetic (hereditary) disorder that causes the red blood cells to be misshapen or mishape
- Don’t function properly; easier to get stuck = risks of clots, heart attack, stroke
(- Often of African descent are people that have it)
What is another name for white blood cells?
Leukoycytes
How much of blood is composed of WBSs?
WBC : RBC = 1 : 100
~1%
What do white blood cells look like?
All WBC have nuclei and are colourless.
What are white blood cells responsible for?
Body’s immune response.
Leukocytes are divided into numerous groups. What are they?
- Granulocytes
-> Neutrophils
-> Eosinophils
-> Basophils - Agranulocytes
-> Monocytes
-> Lymphocytes (into B cells, T cells)
What are granulocytes? What are the type that is most common? 2nd most common? Where are they produced and matured? What is their function? Lifespan?
- Cells with granules
- Lobed nuclei (more than one) that are phagocytic and engulf foreign particles
-> Produce/mature in the bone marrow - Neutrophils are the most numerous, then eosinophils, and basophils
Few hours or a few days.
What is phagocytosis? (phagocytic)
A type of immune cell that can surround and kill microorganisms, ingest foreign material, and remove dead cells.
What are agranulocytes? Where are they produced, matured, and activated? What is their function? Two types?
- Cells without granules
- Vary in function
- Produce and matured in bone marrow (except T-cells, matured in the thymus gland)
Lymphocytes and Monocytes
Lymphocytes are always activated in lymph nodes, whereas monocytes can be.
What are monocytes? What is their lifespan? Where are they produced?
Phagocytes (under the agranulocytes category) that engulf foreign particles, and can become macrophages.
Few hours to few days, produced in the bone marrow.
What are lymphocytes? What can they be split into? Where are they produced?
Vast range of cells and functions. B-cells produce antibodies. T-cells assist in instructing and suppresing (and for memory).
Specialization depends on where they mature: B-cells or T-cells (red bone marrow/thymus)
What are B-cells under lymphocytes?
Created and matured in the bone marrow, and produce antibodies.
Activated in lymph nodes.
What are T-cells under lymphocytes?
Created in bone marrow, matured in the thymus gland near the heart, and are cytotoxic and kill directly. Also assist in instructing and suppresing and for memory.
Activated in lymph nodes.
What are platelets and how do they form? Where do they form? Lifespan?
Fragments of cells that form when larger cells in the bone marrow breaks apart.
Red bone marrow, lungs.
2-8 days.
What is another name for platelets?
Thrombocytes
What is different about platelets?
- No nucleus
- Short lifespan and break down quickly in the blood
What is the key role of platelets?
- Play a key role in clotting
- Prevents blood loss
The process of blood clotting can be explained in four steps. What’s step one?
- Clotting occurs when platelets touch a rough surface
- Releases a chemical that reacts with several others in the plasma
- Forms thromboplastin
The process of blood clotting can be explained in four steps. What’s step two?
- Thromboplastin catalyses the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin.
The process of blood clotting can be explained in four steps. What’s step three?
Thrombin catalyses the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin (an insoluble material), forming a mesh around the injured area.
The process of blood clotting can be explained in four steps. What’s step four?
RBC’s are trapped (with WBC too), in the mesh, which forms a clot.
Other than internal cells, what else helps the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin?
Air; and the clotting sequence is also dependent on the presence of calcium ions in the blood.
Although clotting preserves life, it can also be life threatening. What are some problems that could occur due to blood clotting?
- (Cerebral/Coronary) Thrombus
- Embolus
What is a thrombus and why is it dangerous?
Clot that blocks blood vessel.
Cerebral thrombosis can cause a stroke.
Coronary thrombosis can cause heart attacks.
What is an Embolus?
Dislodged blood clot (Thrombus). Very dangerous, as a clot could be lodged in a vital organ.
Ex: Cerebral/Coronary/pulmonary can be life threatening
What is capillary fluid exchange?
Refers to the exchange of fluid that occurs across the capillary membrane between the blood and the interstitial fluid.
What is interstitial fluid or extracellular fluid (ECF)?
Cells are bathed in ECF and any materials exchanged between capillaries and cells must pass through this fluid. Fluid around cells.
We’re mostly fluids, and diffusion and preventing dehydrations takes place here.
What are the three sections in capillaries? Where does the exchange of materials in capillary fluid exchange take place?
Arterial end, mid-section, venous end.
Takes place in the mid-section.
In capillary fluid exchange nutrients and wastes move due to:
Diffusion
[H] to [L]
Water moves to two main forces in capillary fluid exchange: (and explain)
- Blood pressure forces water out of the capillary; filtration
- Osmotic pressure draws water back to capillaries (because of blood proteins); absorption
What is outward movement from capillaries called?
Filtration
What is inward movement to capillaries called?
Absorption
What is the concentration like between capillaries and cells?
In the capillaries, there is high O2, and the ECF has low O2, and the cell has even lower O2.
What is edema?
A buildup of fluid in the ECF (in tissues). Swelling caused by too much fluid trapped in the body’s tissues
What is edema caused by?
- Inflammation
- Lack of plasma proteins (signs of starvation)
- Loss of proteins from capillaries into ECF (because of histamines)