Lect 7 Basic Blood Flashcards
Blood
A fluid connective tissue consisting of what?
Functions of blood?
- Plasma & Cells (Erythrocytes, Leukocytes, Thrombocytes)
- Functions
- Delivery of nutrients & O2 AND transport of wastes & CO2
- Delivery of hormones, immune system cells
- Maintain Homeostasis, Act as Buffer, Coagulation, Thermoregulation
What is Hematocrit?
What composes only 1% of blood volume?
Volume of RBCs in sample of blood (44% of blood volume)
Leukocytes and Platelets (Buffy Coat)

Blood Plasma
How much of plasma is H2O?
It is a solvent for what?
What is the fluid surrounding tissue cells that is derived from blood plasma?
>90% by weight (55% of blood volume)
Variety of Solutes (proteins, electrolytes, etc)
Interstitial Fluid
Plasma Proteins
What is serum?
What is the function of albumin?
What are the two types of globulins?
What is the function of fibrinogen?
Where are these proteins produced?
- Serum: Blood plasma without clotting factors
- Albumin: colloid osmotic pressure
- Globulins: Immunoglobulins (y-globulins) & Non-Immune Globulins (a-, B-globulin)
- Fibrinogen: Soluble fibrinogen –> insoluble fibrin –> impermeable net preventing further blood loss
- Liver
Blood Cells
Where are they formed?
What are the functional components?
Bone Marrow
Erythrocytes (RBC), Leukocytes (WBC), Platelets
Erythrocytes
What are the physical characteristics?
Lifespan?
Where are they phagocytosed?
Anucelate, Biconcave cells without typical organelles
120 Days (1% removed/day)
Spleen, Bone Marrow, Liver
Reticulocytes
What are they?
How are they different from RBCs?
How long to mature into RBCs?
Immature RBCs from BM
Haven’t shed nuclear material/organelles
24-48 Hours
RBC Cytoskeleton: Integral Membrane Proteins
What attaches the cytoskeletal protein network to the cell membrane?
What binds to Hb & acts as anchoring site for cytoskeletal proteins?
What do the glycosylated EC domains of these proteins express?
Glycophorin C
Band 3 Protein
ABO antigens

RBC Cytoskeleton: Peripheral Membrane Proteins
Lattice network is composed of what?
Spectrin filaments are anchored by what 2 protein complexes?
Spectrin molecules
Band 4.1 (Interacts with Glycophorin C)
Ankyrin (Interacts with Band 3)

Anemia
What is it caused by at its basic level?
Most anemias are caused by what and how can this occur?
What dietary insufficiencies can lead to decreased anemia?
Clinical Sx?
- Decreased Hb levels
- Reduction in number of RBCs
- Hemorrhage, Hemolytic anemia
- Fe, Vit B12, Folic Acid
- Weakness, fatigue, HA, pallor
Cytoskeleton Defects
RBCs cannot adapt to changes in osmotic pressure/mechanical deformations?
What does Hereditary Spherocytosis (AD) affect?
What does Hereditary Elliptocytosis (AD) affect?
- Hemolysis
- Defective anchor points (Ankyrin complex) –> membrane detaching & peel off –> Spherical RBCs
- Membrane fails to rebound (Spectrin-Spectrin Lateral Bonds & Ankyrin-Spectrin-Band 4.1 junctions) –> progressively elongates –> Elliptical RBCs
Hemolytic Anemias & Jaundice
What does jaundice mean?
What can it be caused by?
This is characteristic in variety of hemolytic anemias resulting from?
Yellow appearance of the sclera of the eye & skin
Destruction of circulating RBCs
Inherited RBC defects (Hereditary Spherocytosis); Pathogenic microorganisms; Animal venoms; Chemicals; Drugs
Sickle-Cell Anemia
What causes Sickle Cell?
These HbS molecules aggregate and grow in length and cause what to occur?
Single point mutation of HbA to HbS (Glu –> Val)
Decrease O2 sat, accumulate in small capillaries and large vessel obstruction can occur
Leukocytes
What type of cells are Granulocytes?
What type of cells are Agranulocytes?
Varying amounts in the blood?
Neutrophils, Eosinophils, Basophils
Lymphocytes, Monocytes
N –> L –> M –> E –> B
Neutrophils
What is their function?
Physical description?
What does polymorphonuclear mean?
Recognize & bind to Bacteria, foreign organisms, and infectious agents; Acute inflammation & tissue injury
Multi-lobed nucleus with lack of cytoplasmic staining
Varying shapes of nucleus

Neutrophil Granules
What are primary granules?
What are secondary granules?
What are the two types of Tertiary granules?
- Azurophilic Granules
- MPO (anti-bacterial)
- Specific Granules
- Complement activators & antimicrobial peptides
- Phosphatases & Metalloproteinases
Diapedesis
Neutrophils leave circulation and migrate to site of action, they are further directed to injury site via what principle?
What molecules control this process?
Chemotaxis
Adhesion molecules interacting with ligands on endothelial cells

Eosinophils
Description of nucleus and cytoplasm?
What type of granules?
What would cause increased counts?
What is released?
- Bi-Lobed nuclei, Cytoplasm stains pink/red
- Specific & Azurophilic Granules
- Increased counts with allergies and/or parasitic infections
- Arylsulfatase & Histaminase

Basophils
How does it rank in terms of total population in blood?
What is it functionally related to?
What does it release from its granules?
Responsible for severe vascular disturbances associated with what?
Nucleus?
- Least numerous (<0.5%)
- Related to Mast Cells
- Histamine (Vasoactive agents)
- Anaphylaxis & Hypersensitivity Reactions (Allergies)
- Lobed nucleus usually obscured by granules

Lymphocytes: Functional Cells of Immune System
Description of nucleus & cytoplasm?
Difference between T & B Lymphocytes?
Function of Natural Killer (NK) cells?
- Spherical nucleus w/ thin, pale blue rim of cytoplasm
- T Cells: differentiation in Thymus, cell-mediated immunity
- B Cells: differentiation in BM, transform to plasma cells –> antibodies
- NK cells kill virus-infected and/or tumor cells

Monocytes: Largest WBC
Description of nucleus?
What type of granules?
What do they differentiate into in tissues?
What happens during inflammation?
- Heart/Kidney shaped nucleus with azurophilic granules
- Phagocytes
- Monocyte leaves vasculature –> macrophage –> phagocytosis

Thrombocytes
What are they and what are they derived from?
What is their lifespan?
What are they involved in?
- Cytoplasmic fragments derived from Megkaryocyte (BM)
- Platelets circulate with lifespan of 10 days
- Hemostasis (control of bleeding)

Thrombocytosis
Platelets release what? What is initially formed?
Platelets help conversion of what? What is formed next?
-
Serotonin
- Vasoconstrictor –> Smooth muscle contraction –> Reduce blood flow at injury
-
ADP & Thromboxane A2
- Increase platelet aggregation –> primary hemostatic plug
- Conversion of soluble fibrinogen –> fibrin
- Forms mesh over initial plug (traps platelets)
- Initial plug –> secondary hemostatic plug