Intro to Blood Flashcards
- What is the function of blood?
- What is blood comprised of?
-
Function: blood conveys
- nutrients and waste
- hormones (endocrine)
- gases: O2 and CO2
-
Blood is comprised of:
- ~5% body weight = ~5 L
- specialized connective tissue (CT)
- extracellular matrix component = plasma
- cellular component = RBCs, WBCs, platelets
How can the components of blood be blood separated?
Separated into by centrifugation to:
- Plasma
- Serum
What is the difference between plasma and serum?
-
Plasma:
- fluid supernatant phase after centrifugation in the presence of heparin (to prevent clotting)
- Serum:
- It is the fluid supernatant phase remaining after clotting, followed by centrifugation to remove clotting factors and blood cells (aka formed elements)
What are the components of plasma?
- water ~ 90%
- protein ~ 10%
- albumin: keeps blood volume via colloid osmotic pressure
- globulins: α and β transporters; γ = antibodies
- clotting proteins, complement, lipoproteins
- salts and gases
List the blood cells:
- Erythrocytes (RBCs)
- Leukocytes (WBCs)
-
Granulocytes
- neutrophils
- eosinophils
- basophils
-
Agranulocytes
- monocytes
- lymphocytes
-
Granulocytes
What is a **complete blood count **(CBC)?
What is a differential blood count?
-
complete blood count (CBC):
- total RBCs and WBCs + additional blood components
- **differential blood count: **
- describes relative numbers of leukocytes
What are the normal differential count values (%)?
- Neutrophils ⇒ 34-71%
- Lymphocytes ⇒ 19-53%
- Monocytes ⇒ 5-12%
- Eosinophils ⇒ 0-7%
- Basophils ⇒ 0-1%
What are the normal CBC values for:
- RBC
- WBC
- HGB
- HCT
- RBC ⇒ 4.6 - 6.1 x 106/µL
- WBC ⇒ 4.0 - 10.0 x 103/µL
- HGB ⇒ 13.7 - 17.5 g/dL
- HCT ⇒ 40 - 51%
Erythrocytes:
Morphology
- Size: 7.5 µm diameter = “the internal standard size”
- biconcave disk ⇒ increased surface area for respiration
- nucleus: mature RBCs have no nucleus
- cytoplasm: no organelles
What do the erythrocytes carry for respiration?
hemoglobin
What is the appearance of hemoglobin (stain)?
How is hemoglobin structured?
- hemoglobin (Hb) = 33% = intense eosinophilia
-
tetramer: α, β, χ, δ subunits
- fetal = HbF = α2χ2 (until end of pregnancy)
- adult = HbA = α2β2
- oxyhemoglobin = Hb + O2
- carboxyhemoglobin = Hb + CO2
What is the role of carbonic anhydrase?
carbonic anhydrase: CO2 ⇒ carbonic acid ⇒ HCO3-
Describe the red blood cell plasma membrane:
The RBC plasma membrane is well-characterized
- integral proteins: span the lipid bilayer
-
band 3: anion transporter which exports HCO3- and binds ankyrin
- to maintain biconcave shape by ‘anchoring’ to the subplasmalemmal network
-
band 3: anion transporter which exports HCO3- and binds ankyrin
- RBC’s outer membrane contains antigens
What is the consequence of mutations in RBC plasma membrane proteins?
- Mutations in proteins that maintain the biconcave shape of RBCs cause spherocytosis
- RBCs are spherical, causing problems in RBC distribution and turnover
Describe the anitgens in the RBC outer membrane:
constitute blood group systems:
- common ABO blood group is conferred by
carbohydrate antigens A and B -
Rh group is conferred by presence (+) or absence
(-) of RH protein
ABO blood groups:
What is the normal lifespan of a RBC?
120 days
What is the indication of abnormal RBC values?
- A lower than normal RBC count ⇒ anemia
- An hematocrit value >55% indicates:
- polycythemia (increased RBC #)
- erythrocytosis (increased RBC mass)
What is the consequence of a mutation in the β-chain of hemoglobin?
-
β thalassemia:
- β chain gene is mutated and protein is hence not made; affected adults have HbF instead of HbA
-
sickle cell anemia:
- β-globin mutation: glutamic acid (GAA) ⇒ valine (GTA)
What is the function and location of leukocytes?
- **Location: **
- pass thru** peripheral blood** toward their working destination which is in the tissue spaces of the body.
-
Leukocytes:
- move thru tissues via diapedesis
- function to defend against foreign invaders
- adult number = 4.0-10 x 103/µl in peripheral blood; higher at birth
What are granulocytes?
What sets them apart from other leukocytes?
- All cells have ‘granules’, usually granules are lysosomes
- Granulocytes, in addition, have “specific”granules
- specific granules denote the names of the granular leukocytes
Define neutrophils:
- syn = polymorphonuclear leukocytes
-
specific granules have ‘neutral’ staining
- neither eosinophilic or basophilic
- Nucleus is segmented
Neutrophils:
- % of WBCs:
- Size:
- Major function:
- Lifespan:
- % of WBCs: 34 - 71%
- Size: ~12 µm diameter
- Major function: kill bacteria
- release of specific granules ⇒ degrade the extracellular matrix ⇒ ultimately degrade the bacteria
- phagocytize the bacteria
- Neutrophils kill bacteria by releasing hydrolytic enzymes to create a respiratory burst, initiated by NADPH oxidase
- Lifespan:
- few days
What is the consequence of a mutation in the NADPH oxidase gene?
persistent bacterial infections
Define Eosinophils:
- Specific granules are reddish (i.e. eosinophilic) and large (~1.0 µm), with a crystalloid center that contains major basic protein
- Nucleus is bi-lobed
Eosinophils:
- % of WBCs:
- Size:
- Major function:
- Lifespan:
- % of WBCs: 0 - 7%
- Size: > 12 µm diameter
- Major function:
- kill parasites via major basic protein
- phagocytize Ab:Ag complexes
- secrete leukotrienes
- Lifespan: ~2 weeks
There is a high incidence of eosinophils in ….
**parasitic infections **and asthma
What is the contribution of eosinophils to symptoms in an asthmatic patient?
- In asthma, leukotrienes recruit eosinophils to the lungs and induce them to manufacture more leukotrienes, which in turn causes:
- blood vessel leakiness ⇒ edema
- bronchiolar cells ⇒ constriction of airway
- mucous glands ⇒ mucus buildup
Define basophils:
- Nucleus is irregular, obscured by granules.
- Basophil specific granules contain heparin and histamine
Basophils:
- % of WBCs:
- Size:
- Lifespan:
- % of WBCs: ~0 - 1%
- Size: > 12 µm diameter
- Lifespan: long-lived, few years (memory)
How are basophils similar to mast cells?
Basophil/mast cell function:
- An antigen invades…
- …causing a plasma cell to make immunoglobulin E (IgE)
- IgE binds to the IgE-Receptor on the basophil/mast cell membrane, where it remains, until…
- …later in life, when the same antigen is re-introduced, it immediately binds the IgE on the basophil/mast cell membrane.
- releases its specific granules – histamine
-
releases leukotrienes:
- rapidly causes BV leakiness, which can cause circulatory shock, and bronchiolar constriction, causing respiratory insufficiency
Monocytes:
- % of WBCs:
- Size:
- Nucleus:
- Major function:
- Lifespan:
- % of WBCs: 5 - 12%
- Size: ~ 15 µm
- Nucleus: indented, horseshoe-shaped
- Major function:
- migrate into tissue ⇒ differentiate into macrophages ⇒ phagocytosis
- Macrophages known as antigen-presenting cells ‘present’ phagocytosed
antigens to lymphocytes during an immune response
- Lifespan: several months
Which tissues are these cells in?
- dust cell ⇒
- histiocyte ⇒
- Kupffer cell ⇒
- microglia ⇒
- osteoclast ⇒
- sinusoidal lining cell ⇒
- dust cell ⇒ lung
- histiocyte ⇒ CT
- Kupffer cell ⇒ liver
- microglia ⇒ CNS
- osteoclast ⇒ bone
- sinusoidal lining cell ⇒ spleen
Note: these are all macrophages
Lymphocytes:
- % of WBCs:
- Size:
- Types:
- Major function:
- % of WBCs: 19 - 53%
- Size: variable depending on level of activity
- most in peripheral blood are < 10 µm
- Types: B & T lymphocytes
- Major function:
- complementary function, defending against foreign invaders and cancer cells
- These cells have immunologic memory
- each responds to only 1 single antigen
Lymphocytes
- _____ predominant in peripheral blood (~80%)
- _____ differentiate into plasma cells ⇒ ________
- T cells predominant in peripheral blood (~80%)
- B cells differentiate into plasma cells ⇒ antibodies
What eventually turn into platelets?
megakaryocytes
Platelets:
- Size:
- Morphology:
- Major function:
- Size: small, ~ 2 µm; 300,000/µl (mcL)
- granulomere = dark central region with granules containing clotting factors and growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
- hyalomere = peripheral light region with parallel microtubules
- platelet membrane has receptors
Thrombocytopenia means ….
too few platelets (< 50,000/µL)
What is this?
Lymphocyte
What is this?
Eosinophil
What is this?
Neutrophil
What is this?
Monocyte
What is this?
Basophil
What is this?
Platelet
