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Blood is a tissue fluid that runs in the body’s circulation to provide nutrients to every part of the body. It is responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to every part of the body, as well as removing carbon dioxide from every part of the body to the lungs for exhalation.
Due to the obvious red nature of blood, some people do not know that there are different components in blood other than red blood cells. Blood formation begins in intrauterine life and progresses until a person dies.
An adult has about 5 litres of blood available to the body being reduced in females due to the monthly menstrual cycle, while a new-born baby has about 450 millilitres.
Blood is made up of three types of cells and plasma which is the liquid portion of blood. Plasma further consists of organic substances such as proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, amino acids, antibodies, etc. and inorganic substances such as sodium, chloride, iodide, phosphate, etc. Plasma also contains water which makes up the majority of it (over 90%).
The three cells present in blood include
Each of these cellular components has a specific function and role in the body.
Red blood cells form the majority of cellular components of the blood. They are biconcave or disc like in shape to adapt to their function of transportation and circulation of nutrients round the body.
Red cells have a diameter of 7.2µ, with a surface area of 120 sq µ which is large enough to permit exchange of substances and gases.
So many people would say; if white blood cells are a component of blood, why does the blood appear totally red? White blood cells are so-called in comparison to red blood cells, therefore they are not ‘white’ as their name implies, but have a colour lighter than that of red cells.
They are further classified into Granulocytes which have granules in their cytoplasm, and agranulocytes with an absence of granules in their cytoplasm.
Granulocytes include Neutrophils, Basophils, and Eosinophils; named in relation to the dye colour they are able to absorb o take up. Eosinophils will take up acidic dyes, basophils will take up basic dyes and neutrophils will take up both acidic and basic dyes.
Agranulocytes are of two types; Monocytes and lymphocytes, both having their specific functions.
Unlike red blood cells, each white blood cell differs in size, and in shape as a means of adaptation to their various functions.
Platelets are very few in the blood, irregular in shape but important for stopping bleeding.
There are a variety of functions the blood performs; as a matter of fact, anything that affects any cell in the blood directly affects a person’s life. Some of the functions of blood are
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