Composition of Blood and its Functions

May 26, 2023, 16:45 IST

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The topic “Blood” will be covered in this article. There are liquid and solid components in blood. Water, salts, and protein make up the liquid component of the plasma. The blood contains more than 50% plasma. The blood's solid component is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

This article will go through the purposes, elements, make-up, and significance of blood.

Introduction

Blood is a biological fluid found in the circulatory systems of humans and other animals that transports essential nutrients and oxygen to the cells as well as metabolic waste products away from them. The term "blood" in the context of the circulatory system refers to peripheral blood as well as the blood cells that make up peripheral blood.

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The blood cells that comprise blood are floating in blood plasma. Plasma, which makes up 55% of blood fluid and is 92% water by volume, contains proteins, carbohydrates, mineral ions, hormones, carbon dioxide (plasma is the main medium for excretory product movement), and blood cells themselves.

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Functions of Blood

• Provision of oxygen to tissues (bound to hemoglobin, which is carried in red cells).
• There is easy access to nutrients like glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids (in the blood or bound to plasma proteins, like blood lipids).
• Two examples of immunological processes are the movement of white blood cells and the identification of foreign substances using antibodies.
• Coagulation, the procedure used to control bleeding after a blood vessel ruptures, changes blood from a liquid to a semisolid gel.
• Hormone delivery and tissue damage signaling, are messenger processes.

Blood Conditions

• Hemorrhage (bleeding): It may be evident when blood leaks from blood vessels, such as when a cut breaks through the skin. Internal bleeding, such as after a car accident or into the intestines, may not be immediately noticeable.
• Leukaemia: A type of blood cancer in which the white blood cells circulate through the blood and grow abnormally. The aberrant white blood cells make infection-related illnesses more common than usual.
• Lymphoma: A type of blood cancer in which organs such as lymph nodes and other tissues become inappropriately colonized by white blood cells. Organ failure may eventually result from growing tissues and disruption of blood functions.
• Hemochromatosis: A condition where the blood has high quantities of iron. Diabetes and difficulties with the liver are brought on by iron buildup in the pancreas, liver, and other organs.
• Sickle cell disease: Red blood cells that periodically lose their correct form due to a hereditary issue (appearing like sickles rather than discs). Blood cells with abnormal shapes collect in tissues, harming organs and producing discomfort.
• Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC): An unregulated process that causes bleeding and clotting to co-occur in tiny blood vessels. Cancer or serious infections are the usual causes of DIC.
• Deep venous thrombosis (DVT): A blood clot commonly occurs in a deep vein in the leg. Due to the possibility that they could become dislodged and move to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, DVTs are risky (PE).
• Myocardial infarction (MI): When a blood clot develops unexpectedly in one of the coronary arteries that provide blood to the heart, a myocardial infarction, often known as a heart attack, occurs.

Components of Blood

• Plasma: The plasma component of blood can be separated by quickly spinning a tube of whole blood in a centrifuge. Plasma stays at the top of the tube, generating a yellow layer, while the heavier cells and platelets move to the bottom, forming red and white layers.
• Red Blood Cells: Erythrocytes, often known as red blood cells, are specialized cells that travel throughout the body and carry oxygen to tissues. Red blood cells in humans are tiny, biconcave, and do not mature with mitochondria or a nucleus.
• Platelets: The cell fragments known as platelets, or thrombocytes, are essential for blood coagulation. They are created when massive cells known as megakaryocytes split apart, each producing 2,00,02,00,02,000 - 3,00,03,00,03,000 platelets as it does so.
• White Blood Cells: Less than 1% of the blood's cells are white blood cells, also known as leukocytes, which are far less frequent than red blood cells. Additionally, they play an utterly distinct role from red blood cells, primarily responsible for immunological responses and identifying and combating foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses.

Composition of Blood

The cells and cell fragments from a blood sample are separated from the liquid intercellular matrix when it is spun in a centrifuge. The generated elements are packed in the bottom of the tube by centrifugal force since they are heavier than the liquid matrix. The plasma, which makes up around 55% of the blood volume and is the pale yellow liquid on top, is also known as the hematocrit, or packed cell volume, of red blood cells (PCV). Between plasma and red blood cells, a thin covering of white blood cells and platelets is known as the "buffy coat."

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Blood Vessels

Blood travels through blood arteries, which act as conduits.They build a closed circuit that begins and ends at the heart. The circulatory system is made up of the heart and blood arteries. The body is made up of about 60,000 kilometers of blood vessels.

Blood vessels come in three different varieties:

• Blood is carried out from the heart through arteries.
• Veins allow blood to return to the heart.
• The tiniest blood channels, capillaries, link veins, and arteries.

Importance of Blood

Blood is the red fluid that travels through the arteries and veins of people and other vertebrate animals, removing carbon dioxide from and delivering oxygen to the body's tissues. It is formed of platelets suspended in blood plasma in vertebrates. Plasma, which makes up 55% of the blood's liquid, is primarily composed of water, but it also contains dispersed proteins, glucose, mineral ions, hormones, and carbon dioxide.

All body components can continue to function by receiving oxygen and nutrition through the blood. The blood is used by the lungs, kidneys, and digestive system to carry carbon dioxide and other waste materials for removal from the body. Blood also helps the body fight infections and distribute hormones.

Blood Formation

• The process through which the blood's formed components are created is known as hemopoiesis (hematopoiesis). The epiphyses of flat bones (such as the ribs and cranial bones), long bones (such as the humerus and femur), vertebrae, and the pelvis are where hematopoiesis occurs. Hemocytoblasts, which are hematopoietic stem cells, divide in the red bone marrow to create several "blast" cells. These cells each mature into a different evolved part.
• The production of erythrocytes, or erythropoiesis, starts with developing proerythroblasts from hematopoietic stem cells. Several development phases occur over three to five days as ribosomes multiply and hemoglobin is produced.
• Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), hormones made by mature white blood cells, encourage leukopoiesis, creating leukocytes. The division of the hematopoietic stem cells initiates the creation of each white blood cell.
• Megakaryoblasts, which are the precursors of thrombopoiesis, the production of platelets, are created from hematopoietic stem cells. Megakaryocytes, which are enormous cells with a massive, multilobed nucleus, are created when megakaryoblasts divide without cytokinesis. The plasma membrane then unfolds into the cytoplasm, causing the megakaryocytes to split into pieces.

Blood Groups

A person's blood type is determined by the antigens on their red blood cells. Protein molecules called antigens are present on the cell surfaces.

Antibodies, which are proteins, are found in plasma and can warn the immune system of the presence of potentially harmful foreign substances.The immune system defends the body against the risk of infection or disease.

It is essential to understand a person's blood type before an organ transplant or blood transfusion. If the blood is of the incorrect type, antibodies will attack freshly created blood cells, which could have catastrophic effects. Anti-A antibodies, for instance, will target cells that have A antigens.

RhD is an additional antigen that is occasionally found in red blood cells. This is said by doctors in relation to the blood group. RhD is present if a blood group is positive.

Humans can belong to one of the four major blood types. These groups can result in eight broad categories, each of which can be Rhd-positive or-negative.

• Group A positive or A negative: Blood cells have antigens on their exteriors. There are anti-B antibodies in the plasma.
• Group B positive or B negative: Blood cells have B antigens on their exteriors. Plasma contains anti-A antibodies.
• Group AB positive or AB negative: There are A and B antigens on the outside of blood cells. The plasma has no antibodies.
• Group O positive and O negative: Blood cell surfaces are devoid of antigens. The plasma contains anti-B and anti-A antibodies.

Hematology

The field of medicine known as hematology, or hematology in British English, is devoted to researching blood-related disorders, including their causes, prognoses, treatments, and prevention. It entails treating conditions that have an impact on the development of blood and its constituent parts, including blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, bone marrow, platelets, blood arteries, spleen, and the mechanism of coagulation. These conditions may include leukemia, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, blood clots (thrombus), bleeding disorders, and hemophilia. Medical technologists or medical laboratory scientists typically do the laboratory analysis of blood.

Eosinophils

The immune system's specialized cell is called an eosinophil. This type of pro-inflammatory white blood cell often has a bilobed (two-lobed) nucleus and 200 or more granules of cytoplasm containing proteins and enzymes with various (known and unknown) activities.

Functions of Eosinophils

• Parasitic infections: Eosinophils are essential in the fight against allergic reactions, parasite infections, and other inflammatory processes. Cell death, antibacterial action, and inflammation management are other functions.
• Plasma cell survival: Eosinophils encourage plasma cell survival to maintain a balance between T-helper and T-regulatory responses in different organs, such as the gut and lungs. Additionally, eosinophils control the adipose tissues' ability to tolerate glucose and create a variety of growth factors that aid in tissue regeneration.
• Eosinophil-platelet interactions: White blood cells use platelets to communicate with other cells and sense inflammatory stimuli. Through specific cell surface receptors, eosinophils and platelets interact, encouraging activation of the attached platelets and neighboring endothelial cells.

Blood: FAQs

Q1. Why is our blood red?

Ans. Haemoglobin, or HEE-much-glow-bin, is an oxygen-carrying protein found in red blood cells.The vibrant red hue of blood is caused by hemoglobin, which absorbs oxygen in the lungs. Haemoglobin transports oxygen to various bodily areas as it circulates through the body.

Q2. How long does blood have a shelf life?

Ans. Red blood cells can be kept in refrigerators for up to 42 days at 60oC. For up to five days, platelets are kept at room temperature in agitators. For up to a year, freezers are used to store frozen plasma and cryo.

Q3. Where are blood cells made?

Ans. The bone marrow produces blood cells. The bone marrow is the soft, spongy substance in the middle of the bones. 95% of the blood cells in the body are produced by it. The pelvic, breast, and spine bones contain the majority of the bone marrow in the adult body.

Q4. What do blood cells do?

Ans. The primary function of red blood cells is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues. Additionally, it returns carbon dioxide from the tissues, a waste product, to the lungs. Haemoglobin, a crucial protein in red blood cells, is responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to every body part.

Q5. What is a complete blood cell count (CBC)?

Ans. The measurement of the size, quantity, and maturity of the various blood cells in a given volume of blood is known as a complete blood count (CBC). Numerous disorders involving either the creation or decomposition of blood cells can be detected with a CBC. An infection or disease process can be identified by changes in the blood cells' typical quantity, size, or maturity.