Blood and Lymph Components

Blood and Lymph Components

• Blood consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets

Plasma Details

• Plasma constitutes 55% of blood volume
• It is 90% water and 10% dissolved nutrients, waste, and hormones
• Plasma's pale yellow color results from proteins
• The three main protein groups within plasma regulate water, produce antibodies, and facilitate blood clotting

Red Blood Cells (RBCs)

• RBCs transport oxygen from your lungs to other parts of your body
• Their disk shape and flexibility, due to the lack of a nucleus, allows them to squeeze through narrow capillaries
• RBCs contain hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that binds to oxygen
• Oxygenated hemoglobin makes the blood appear bright red; deoxygenated hemoglobin causes it to appear dull red
• RBCs cannot reproduce or repair themselves because they lack a nucleus
• Mature RBCs have a lifespan of approximately 120 days
• Bone marrow produces new RBCs to replace the dying ones
• RBCs loosely bind to oxygen, allowing them to easily gain and lose oxygen
• RBCs binds well with carbon monoxide, and the cell is no longer able to bind oxygen
• Carbon monoxide poisoning results from carbon monoxide binding to hemoglobin

White Blood Cells (WBCs)

• WBCs are produced in bone marrow
• WBCs' main functions include recognizing disease-causing organisms, producing chemicals to combat invaders, and engulfing invaders
• WBCs are larger than RBCs and possess a nucleus
• WBCs can survive for months or even years

Platelets

• Platelets are cell fragments that play a crucial role in the blood clotting process
• Platelets trigger a clotting cascade
• Injury leads to blood vessel severance and leakage of blood/components
• Smooth muscle in the vessel wall contracts near the injury point reducing blood loss
• Platelets activate by chemicals released at injury site and contact with collagen
• Fibrinogen converts to fibrin, forming a mesh that traps more platelets

Blood Types

• Marker molecules on the RBC determine the individual's blood type
• Blood types include A, B, AB, and O
• If a body detects an antigen not of its own, it will launch an attack on the antigen
• Example: Type A blood has anti-B antibodies

Rh Factor

• Rh factor is another protein found on RBCs
• 85% of people have the protein with Rh positive
• 15% of people do not have the protein with an Rh negative
• Rh negative individuals cannot donate blood to Rh positive individuals, and it will result in clumping of Rh proteins

Lymphatic System

• During blood travel through capillaries, some fluid(plasma) leaks into surrounding tissues
• This fluid carries nutrients and oxygen that cells need
• Excess fluid must be drained from the cells via the lymphatic system
• Lymphatic system is a network of veinlike vessels returning fluids into the blood stream
• Traveling fluid becomes lymph
• Lymph carries dissolved materials and white blood cells away from capillaries
• Lymph flows slowly throughout the lymphatic system without a pump like the heart
• The lymphatic system connects to large veins, which empty lymph back into the bloodstream
• Lymph nodes filter lymph, trapping bacteria and foreign organisms within the fluid
• Some trapped bacteria are contained within the Lymph nodes