What are white blood cells?
Clicking the image to the left will take you to a website that will help you understand the difference between red and white blood cells.
What are red blood cells?
Clicking the image to the left will take you to a website that will help you understand the difference between red and white blood cells.
Red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, have a significant job in the cardiovascular system of transporting oxygen throughout the body. Erythrocytes contain hemoglobin which carries oxygen to the capillaries and assists in exhalation by carrying carbon dioxide from the capillaries to the lungs. They are generated in the red bone marrow. Red blood cells exist for about 120 days, as they are transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide. After about 120 days, specific white blood cells demolish the red blood cells in the spleen and the liver. During the destruction of the red blood cells, the iron in the cells are “recycled” into the red bone marrow and manipulated back into the new cells that are being made.
White blood cells, or leukocytes, are a part of the immune system. A low white blood cell count in the human body signifies the efficiency of the immune system. A high white blood count can be a sign of an infection. There are five important types of white blood cells: basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils. Basophilis is a release of histamines. Eosinophils basically engulf other cells. Lymphocytes kill virus containing cells. Monocytes eat macrophages, which digest viruses and bacteria. Lastly, neutrophils make up the majority of the white blood cells in the body, and prevents the system from being taken over by pathogens.
The clear layer at the top of a test tube when a blood sample is spun in a centrifuge (a machine that separates platelets and blood cells from plasma) is called plasma. Important proteins are located in plasma, and without them, you would die. Other than water, plasma is made up of blood cells, carbon dioxide, glucose, hormones, and proteins. The two major important proteins that are located in plasma are gamma globulin and fibrinogen. Gamma globulin contains many proteins that form the different types of antibodies. Fibrinogen is a protein that assists in blood clotting.
Platelets, also known as thrombocytes, play a vital part in your body. They are pieces of cells whose goal is to form blood clots. When you sustain a cut and start bleeding, your body sends platelets, which clump to form a scab, to the injury in order to heal it. The clustered group of platelets stops the bleeding and starts the healing process. If you didn’t have platelets in your body, you would never stop bleeding from a wound, and you would eventually bleed out.
What is plasma?
Click the image to the left to find a site to help you understand plasma better.
What are platelets?
Clicking the image to the left will send you to a link to learn more about platelets.
What is in blood?
Blood is the fluid that maintains life. There are several different components of blood that performs vital functions. Plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells are all components of blood. Different blood cells have different jobs and functions: they carry oxygen, fight off harmful cells, destroy substances, and help your body to develop blood clots. It's important that the human body has a consistent blood level.
Components of Blood
References
Platelet. (2014, April 27). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platelet
What is plasma?. (2014, April 27). Retrieved from http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/Encyclopedia/Content.aspx? ContentTypeID=160&ContentID=37
What are the components of human blood?. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-the-components-of-human-blood.html
05 hematology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://otah2o.wikispaces.com/05+Hematology
What's Inside of Blood?. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://youtu.be/5MOn8X-tyFw
