The Blood(Complete) Flashcards
What is blood?
Fluid connective tissue which consists of plasma, red and white blood cells and platelets.
It is pumped through the closed blood vessels of the circulatory system.
What two roles does the blood have?
Transport role.
Defence role.
Describe the blood’s transport role.
It transports nutrients in the plasma, e.g glucose and amino acids are transported from the small intestine to the liver in the hepatic portal vein.
It transports oxygen in red blood cells which are attached to haemoglobin.
It transports metabolic wastes like urea and carbon dioxide, e.g carbon dioxide is transported in bicarbonate ions in the plasma.
It transports hormones from endocrine glands to the target organ.
It transports antibodies to infected sites.
It transports heat generated by the liver to all over the body to maintain the core body temperature of 37C.
Describe the blood’s defence role.
This role is carried out by white blood cells.
What is the composition of blood?
55% plasma.- non-cellular compostition
45% blood cells.- cellular composition.
What is the pH of the blood?
7.4
What is the bloods volume?
Approximately 5 litres in adults.
Give the location in the body where 2 substances that are transported in the blood enter the blood.
Urea- the liver.
Hormones- endocrine glands.
Oxygen- lungs.
What is plasma?
The liquid part of the blood, a yellow liquid matrix.
What is the pH of plasma?
7.4.
What is the composition of plasma?
Water- 90%.
Plasma proteins-7%.
Dissolved substances for transport- 3%.
What is the role of water in the plasma?
Absorbs and distributes heat.
The biological solvent which dissolves solutes.
What is the role of plasma proteins?
Antibodies are specific defence proteins produced by B lymphocytes in response to specific antigens in which they bind.
Clotting proteins like fibrinogen prevents blood loss and the entry of pathogens by the clotting of blood.
Albumen and other proteins maintain the concentration of the blood cells and plasma to be the same.
Describe the dissolved substances for transport.
Nutrients- glucose and amino acids.
Respiratory gases- CO2 and O2.
Metabolic wastes- urea.
What is serum?
Plasma without the clotting proteins.
Where are red blood cells made?
In the red marrow of long bones like the femur.
What is the life span of red blood cells and why?
4 months/ 120 days.
As they lack a nucleus and therefore cannot repair themselves.
What is haemoglobin?
A purple pigment which has a high affinity for oxygen as it has iron which forms bonds easily with oxygen.
What is the role of the flexible membrane?
It allows the red blood cells to change shape to fit through the narrow capillaries.
What feature of the red blood cells allows them to pass through the narrow capillaries?
The flexible membrane.
Where are red blood cells broken down?
How are red blood cells broken down and recycled?
The liver and spleen.
Iron from haemoglobin is stored in the liver or is used to make haemoglobin in the bone marrow.
Other red blood cells form bile pigments which are egested in the faeces.
What is the primary role of red blood cells?
To transport oxygen as oxy-haemoglobin from the lungs to tissue cells for aerobic respiration.
What is the secondary role of red blood cells?
Transports some carbon dioxide to the lungs where it is excreted.
Can be used to determine blood type as antigens and chemicals are on the surface.
What are the adaptations of red blood cells and what are the complimentary advantages?
Small- Provide a shorter diffusion distance for gas exchange.
Biconcave shape- provides a larger surface area for gas exchange.
No nucleus- the whole red blood cell is filled with haemoglobin which allows more oxygen to be carried.
No mitochondria- no aerobic respiration occurs which would use up some oxygen.