Red Blood Cells- Creation, Function and Destruction Flashcards
How much blood is there in the body?
5 litres
What is haematocrit?
The ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood.
how many more times is RBC more common than WBC?
500x
Usually 2.4x10^33
What is the shape of a red blood cell?
Biconcave
Pliable
What can RBC not do?
Divide or make new proteins
What are the main functions of RBC?
Oxygen and carbon dioxide transport
Acid/base balance
What are the growth factors of RBC?
Interleukin 3
Erythropoietin
Androgens
Growth hormone
Thyroxine
What are reticulocytes?
Immature RBC
What is reticulin?
Remnants of mRNA left once the nucleus of a maturing RBC has been extruded
What removes reticulin?
The spleen within 1-2 days
What is reticulocytes a good measure of?
A useful measure of marrow response to anaemia or treatment
What do you use to stain reticulocytes?
Methylene blue
How much iron in the body?
3000-5000mg of iron
What percentage of iron is used in Hb?
2/3
Where is iron transported into?
Duodenal enterocytes
How much iron is required in the diet?
10-20mg of which 1-2mg are absorbed in ferrous form
What does hepcidin regulate?
Iron absorption and release from macrophages
How does the body excrete iron?
It can’t
What can cause iron loss?
Menstrual loss
Minor trauma
GI
Blood sampling
Urine
Shedding skin
What is the function of transferrin?
Moving iron from the duodenal enterocytes to the spleen
Describe the process of transferrin
Transferrin receptors on macrophages
Transferrin latches onto those receptors
Get internalized
The iron is stripped of the transferrin
Transferrin is pushed out of the cell
What transports iron?
Macrophages
What is the function of ferritin?
Storage of iron
What is the average requirement of folic acid?
0.1mg