Exam 1 – Dr. Thomason Lecture 1 Flashcards
What do RBCs contain?
Hemoglobin (Hgb)
What does Hgb allow for?
Oxygen to be transported from the lungs to the tissues
Do mammalian RBCs have a nucleus? Reptiles, birds, and amphibians?
No
Yes
What is the shape of RBCs like for most species? Camelids?
Round
Ellipsoidal
How do RBCs work?
Higher concentration of oxygen in lungs allows for it to pass to deoxygenated blood through simple diffusion
How is O2 transported?
By binding to Hgb
What gives RBCs the red color?
Heme
Ferrous iron
What do heme molecules combine with?
A polypeptide chain (globin)
How many chains make up hemoglobin?
4
How many O2 molecules are there per hemoglobin chain?
1, so there are 4 O2 molecules per hemoglobin
What is the O2 concentration like for Hgb?
Almost always at maximum concentration
How much of the iron in the body is in Hgb? Liver and marrow?
65%
25%
What is iron absorbed from?
Small intestine
What does iron bind to? What does it form?
Apotransferrin
Transferrin
What is iron transported in?
Plasma
What is iron transported as?
Transferrin
What does transferrin strongly bind to?
Erythroblasts
What are erythroblasts?
The precursors to erythrocytes
What is iron stored in cells as?
Ferritin
Why is there a minimum amount of apoferritin?
It is an insoluble form of iron
What is bilirubin?
The break down of hemoglobin
Which has a higher affinity for O2, fetal Hgb or adult Hgb?
Fetal Hgb
What minimizes acidosis?
Bicarbonate
What is the average life span of RBCs?
Months
What are aged RBCs removed by?
Spleen
What happens to iron when Hgb is broken down?
It is reused-transported as transferring
What happens to globulin chains as Hgb is broken down?
It is reused
What happens to remaining heme as Hgb is broken down?
It is eliminated as bilirubin