Unit 3 - Blood PART D Flashcards
What are the 3 formed elements of blood?
- Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells)
- Leukocytes (White Blood Cells, WBCs)
- Platelets
Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells) KEY POINTS
a. Most numerous blood cell. Makes up >99% of blood cells
b. Flattened, biconcave disk-shaped cells that lack nucleus & organelles
c. Short-lived (~120 days) – rapidly produced in bone marrow (see notes on hematopoiesis).
d. Contain Hemoglobin (Hb)
e. Hematocrit (Hct)
f. Anemias
Which is the most numerous blood cell?
Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells)!
Most numerous blood cell. Makes up >99% of blood cells
- ~5 billion RBC’s per ml of blood
What is the shape of Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells)?
Flattened, bioconcave disk-shaped cells that lack nucleus & organelles
What can the shape of Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells) allow? & what happens if it changes?
specialized for gas transport. (to facilitate O2 transport from the lungs to cells, & CO2 transport from cells to lungs)
Shape can change due to disease (e..g. crescent shaped in sickle-cell anemia; spherocytosis, cells now round spheres instead of flattened disk).
What is the life span of Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells)?
Short-lived (~120 days) – rapidly produced in bone marrow (see notes on hematopoiesis).
What do Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells) contain?
Contain Hemoglobin (Hb)
- main component of RBC’s
- role in O2 transport
What is Adult Hemoglobin (Hb) (HbA) composed of?
Adult Hb (HbA) is composed of two a-globin and two b-globin protein chains, each of which bound to an iron containing heme group.
Hemoglobin (Hb)
- Globin
- Heme
Globin =
protein chains; binds and transports CO2
Heme =
Red pigment molecule - porphyrin ring surrounding an iron (Fe2+) atom that reversibly binds to O2. There are 4 hemes per Hb molecule, so each Hb transports 4 O2. Gives blood its red colour which can be seen through skin as a pink colour especially in areas of thin skin like like the lips.
Porphyrin ring
the 4 heme groups in a hemoglobin molecule are identical
- each consists of a C-H-N polyphyrin ring with an iron atom (Fe) in the center
Iron metabolism and Hemoglobin Synthesis
- Iron from diet actively transported into blood (excess stored in liver as ferritin)
- Transported in plasma by transferrin
- Iron is taken up in the bone marrow and used
to synthesize heme –> hemoglobin –> RBCs - RBCs live 120 days and are then broken down
in spleen
Transferrin
carrier protein; binds iron & transports it in the blood
Iron metabolism and Hemoglobin Synthesis (9 steps as per figure)
- Iron (Fe) ingested from the diet
- Fe absorbed by active transport
- Transferrin protein transports Fe in plasma
- Bone marrow uses Fe to make hemoglobin (Hb) as part of RBC synthesis
- RBCs live about 120 days in the blood
- Spleen destroys old RBCs and converts Hb to bilirubin
- Bilirubin & metabolites are excreted in urine & feces
- Liver metabolizes bilirubin & excretes it in bile
- Liver stores excess Fe as ferritin
Ferritin
protein that binds & stores iron in the body
- spherical protein; core of the sphere is an iron-containing mineral that can be converted to soluble iron & released when needed for hemoglobin synthesis
Heme:
- IRON removed and stored in liver (as ferritin), muscle, & spleen to be recycled for future use.
- PORPHYRIN RING: converted to BILIRUBIN – excreted in bile (& therefore feces) as well as urine (metabolites of bilirubin give feces and urine their colour).