The Circulatartory System: The Blood Flashcards
What is the blood? And what is the function of it?
Blood is a tissue, it’s a group of cells which work together to perform a specific function. The blood’s function is to transport substances around the body.
What is the blood made of? And where are those things put in?
Red blood cells, white cells, platelets and they are SUSPENDED (QoL) in a liquid called plasma
What’s the red blood cells function?
It’s function/job is to transport oxygen around our bodies
Name three adaptions that red blood cells have to carry out efficient transportation of oxygen
– they have a biconcave shape
– contain haemoglobin
– they contain no nucleus
How does having a biconcave shape help in red blood cell’s job?
It gives them a large surface area and an increased SA: volume ratio. This makes them more efficient at oxygen diffusion
What does having a biconcave shape/disk mean?
Biconcave means it’s pushed in on both sides so red blood cells look like biconcave disks
How does having no nucleus help the red blood cells’ job?
Having no nucleus means that there’s more room for the oxygen they’re carrying and more room for molecules of haemoglobin
What is the disadvantage of red blood cells having no nucleus?
They will become weak and kind of rot down. Their life span is short and they will not be able to repair themselves of damaged as gene expression can’t occur. They can’t divide.
When do red blood cells lose their nucleus? Are they still eukaryotic?
When they first enter the blood stream, they’ll eject their nucleus and other organelles. They are still, however, eukaryotic.
What do the haemoglobins do in red blood cells?
They’re the red pigments that carry the oxygen
Why do our bodies need oxygen? Where does it enter our body? Where does it go?
Our bodies need oxygen for respiration (a process to release energy). Oxygen will enter your lungs as you breathe and then red blood cells will transport oxygen from there to all the body cells
Define haemoglobin?
They’re the red pigment in the blood
Alternatively:
They’re a large protein molecule folded around four iron atoms
How does oxygen get into the blood to be transported?
In a place with high concentrations of oxygen, for example the lungs, the oxygen will diffuse into the blood and it does that by letting haemoglobin react with the oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin.
What color is oxyhaemoglobin? And what does that explain?
Oxyhaemoglobin is bright scarlett in color which is why most blood coming from the arteries is bright red (arteries take blood to the body)
After oxygen and haemoglobin have merged, the oxygen needs to be transported to else where. But oxygen is combined with haemoglobin so we can’t get it on its own. How does oxygen still get transported to the body cells?
The reverse of the formation of oxyhaemoglobin will happen. In body tissues, concentration of oxygen is low so oxyhaemoblobin will split to form oxygen and haemoglobin. The oxygen will then diffuse into cells when it’s needed
