WEEK 5 - BLOOD

Question 1

What are the three functions of blood?

Answer 1

1. transport
2. immune response
3. coagulation

Question 2

what does the blood transport?

Answer 2

O2, water, nutrients
Co2, waste products
Ions associated with pH levels and homeostasis
heat
hormones
immune cells and coagulants

Question 3

what does blood do in immune repsonse?

Answer 3

fights infection and produces immune response largely via white blood cells.

Question 4

What is coagulation?

Answer 4

• prevents bleeding

- via platelets and coagulation factors found in the plasma

Question 5

what is the breakdown of blood?

Answer 5

50% plasma, 50% formed elements

Question 6

what is plasma and what does it do?

Answer 6

Mostly water
proteins and solutes are dissolved into the water
there proteins keep osmotic pressure equal

Question 7

what three things makes up the formed elements part of blood?

Answer 7

1. platelets
2. white blood cells
3. red blood cells

Question 8

what are platelets and what do they do?

Answer 8

cell fragments made from exploded huge cells

they participate in clotting to stop bleeding.

Question 9

what do white blood cells do?

Answer 9

identitfy pathogens and destroy them.

Question 10

what are red blood cells called and what is their primary function?

Answer 10

erythrocytes
99% of formed elements
transport oxygen

Question 11

what is hematopoeisis?

Answer 11

formation of blood cells from hemocytoblasts

Question 12

what are hemocytoblasts?

Answer 12

the progenitors for all blood cells

• located in red marrow of bones
• makes red, white blood cells and platelets
• when exposed to erythropoietin it makes red blood cells

Question 13

what is erythropoiesis?

Answer 13

the process of RBCs being made from hemocytoblasts because of exposure to erythropoietin.

Question 14

what is erythropoietion?

Answer 14

the thing that triggers hemocytoblasts to make erythrocytes/RBCs.

Question 15

what is the shape RBCs?

Answer 15

biconcave disc shape for maximal surface area for gas exchange
flexible for movement through capillaries
no nuclei as they don’t need to reproduce as hemocytoblasts make them.

Question 16

how do RBCs do their job?

Answer 16

they contain a large amount of hemoglobin with 4 heme units to bind 4 oxygen molecules each.
- uses iron to bins oxygen (iron is required to make hemoglobin)

Question 17

what is the fraction of the blood that is RBCs called?

Answer 17

hematocrit or packed cell volume

Question 18

what happens to your hematocrit levels when you exercise?

Answer 18

you have a higher level and therefore more O2 capacity.

Question 19

what are the levels of hematocrit in men and women?

Answer 19

men 0.4 - 0.5

women 0.37 - 0.47

Question 20

what happens if you have low hematocrit?

Answer 20

you are anemic which means you will have low iron and low oxygen levels

Question 21

what happens if you have high hematocrit?

Answer 21

you are polycythemic - thick blood. This will strain your heart and blood vessels.

Question 22

what enhances erythropoeitin?

Answer 22

testostorone

Question 23

what is the path of erythropoeitin?

Answer 23

it is put into the blood from the kidney which goes into the bone marrow and stimulates hemocytoblasts to make more RBCs through erythropoesis. this increases the oxygen capacity and levels

Question 24

why do athletes train at high altitudes?

Answer 24

when at high altitudes, there is less oxygen in the air, so the kidneys release more enrythropoeitin to make more RBCs to make the oxygen capacity bigger and get more oxygen to the body. Then they will have more RBCs than they need when competing at normal altitude so they will be more efficient/have more capacity than if they trained at level.