Blood

Question 1

What is the main function of the blood?

Answer 1

to transport oxygen, nutrients, waste and hormones around the body

Question 2

Where is blood found?

Answer 2

inside the heart and blood vessels

Question 3

Is blood thicker than water?

Answer 3

yes, it is 5x thicker than water

Question 4

What is the normal pH level for blood?

Answer 4

pH of 7.35-7.45 is a normal range

Question 5

What happens if the pH level of the blood is too high or too low?

Answer 5

the cell membrane will start to fall apart

Question 6

What is the liquid part of the blood called?

Answer 6

plasma

Question 7

What is the volume of blood an adult would approx have?

Answer 7

around 5 litres

Question 8

What is blood made out of?

Answer 8

blood is made up of plasmas ( the fluid ), and formed elements such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Question 9

What is plasma?

Answer 9

> plasma is transparent

> it is the liquid part of the blood

Question 10

What is plasma made out of?

Answer 10

plasma is 91% water, 8 % proteins and 1% other solutions

Question 11

What substances are transported in the plasma of the blood?

Answer 11

nutrients, hormones, gases, waste and electrolytes / ions

Question 12

Describe erythrocytes ( red blood cells )

Answer 12

> they are small round cells which are biconcave
they have very few organelles and no nucleus
they are full of haemoglobin
erythrocytes have a life span of 120 days
erythrocytes are made in the red bone marrow
you have around 5000 million erythrocytes per mL of blood

Question 13

What is the function of haemoglobin?

Answer 13

to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the body tissue

Question 14

Describe leukocytes ( white blood cells )

Answer 14

> they only make up 1% of the blood volume

> they are vitally important in protecting the body

Question 15

Leukocytes are split into 2 categories. These are..

Answer 15

granulocytes and agranulocytes

Question 16

What is granulocytes?

Answer 16

granulocytes have granules that can be seen in the cytoplasm after the cells are stained and magnified

Question 17

What is agranulocytes?

Answer 17

agranulocytes do not have visible granules. it is a white blood cell that doesn’t contain any visible granules in its cytoplasm

Question 18

Describe thrombocytes ( platelets )

Answer 18

these are formed elements that are responsible for blood clotting but aren’t technically cells - instead they are fragments of a giant cell

Question 19

why do we sometimes use the term “formed elements” instead of cells when referring to red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets ?

Answer 19

because platelets are not whole cells, they are just fragments

Question 20

What is haemoglobin ?

Answer 20

it is a protein found inside RBC (intracellular) that carries oxygen and carbon dioxide
haeme + globin

Question 21

Describe haemoglobin

Answer 21

> 97 % of the oxygen in the blood is carried by haemoglobin
the protein is made up of 4 globin chains and 4 haeme groups
the normal range for women is 120 - 150 g/L
the normal range for men is 140 - 180 g/L

Question 22

What would happen if an infection or inflammation was to occur?

Answer 22

more leukocytes would be produced

Question 23

What would happen if oxygen levels in the blood were low?

Answer 23

more erythrocytes would be produced

Question 24

What is homeostasis?

Answer 24

it is a normal blood oxygen level

Question 25

Why is it useful fo erythrocytes not to have a nucleus ?

Answer 25

So they are able to hold more haemoglobin and oxygen. they can fold down to squeeze through small blood vessels such as capillaries

Question 26

What is an antigen?

Answer 26

it is a substance that the body recognises as being forge in to the body

Question 27

What are antibodies ?

Answer 27

they are “recognisers”. they recognise any foreign antigens and bind to them, ultimately destroying them.

Question 28

Where can antibodies be found?

Answer 28

in the plasma of the blood

Question 29

What is the purpose of antibodies?

Answer 29

the purpose is defend the body against “forge in” blood cells

Question 30

What is the Rhesus system?

Answer 30

it is a second blood typing method that will also cause serious reaction if there is a mismatch in the Rhesus system.

Question 31

What are the four main blood groups?

Answer 31

A, B, AB and O.

Question 32

What is haemostasis?

Answer 32

it is when there is a break in the blood vessel and the body needs to respond rapidly and stop the flow of blood

Question 33

What are the three steps of haemostasis?

Answer 33

1. vascular spasms occur
2. platelet plugs form
3. coagulation event occurs