A&P 17: Blood Flashcards
(125 cards)
Hematocrit
Percentage of erythrocytes in the total volume of a blood sample
Buffy coat
Thin, whitish layer present at the erythrocyte-plasma junction when blood is centrifuged; made of leukocytes & platelets
Plasma
Straw-colored, sticky fluid; mostly water (90%) but has > 100 different dissolved solutes (nutrients, gases, hormones, wastes & products of cell activities, proteins, & inorganic ions/electrolytes)
Albumin
Accounts for 60% of plasma protein; acts as a carrier to shuttle certain molecules through the circulation; important blood buffer; major blood protein contributing to plasma osmotic pressure (pressure that helps keep water in the bloodstream)
Formed elements
Erythrocytes, leukocytes, & platelets
Erythrocytes (red blood cells)
Small cells shaped like biconcave discs
Hemoglobin
Protein that makes red blood cells
Heme
Red pigment that binds to the protein globin
Globulin
Protein consisting of 4 polypeptide chains (2 alpha, 2 beta), each binding a ring-like heme group
Oxyhemoglobin
What hemoglobin is called when oxygen binds to iron; assumes 3D shape & becomes ruby red
Deoxyhemoglobin
Reduced hemoglobin; oxygen detaches from hemoglobin, hemoglobin resumes its former shape, & becomes dark red
Carbaminohemoglobin
20% of carbon dioxide transported in the blood combines with hemoglobin but binds to globin’s amino acids rather than to the heme group; formation of this occurs more readily when hemoglobin is in the reduced state (dissociated from oxygen)
Hematopoiesis
Blood cell formation
Red bone marrow
Where hematopoiesis occurs; composed largely of a soft network of reticular connective tissue bordering on wide blood capillaries (blood sinusoids)
Hematopoietic stem cell
Hematocytoblast; all formed elements arise from this undifferentiated precursor cells residing in red blood marrow
Erythropoiesis
Erythrocyte production
Myeloid stem cell
Erythropoiesis begins when this cell transforms into a proerythroblast
Proerythroblast
A myeloid stem cell transforms into this committed cell that gives rise to basophilic erythroblasts
Basophilic erythroblasts
Cell that produces huge number of ribosomes & transforms into a polychromatic erythroblast & then an orthochromatic erythroblast
Polychromatic erythroblast
Develops from a basophilic erythroblast; develops into an orthochromatic erythroblast
Orthochromatic erythroblast
Develops from a polychromatic erythroblast; when it has accumulated most of its hemoglobin, it ejects most of its organelles, its nucleus disintegrates & pinches off, which allows the cell to collapse inward & eventually assume the biconcave shape
Reticulocyte
Young erythrocyte; named because it still contains a scant reticulum of clumped ribosomes
Reticulocyte counts
Provide a rough index of the rate of RBC formation
Erythropoietin (EPO)
Glycoprotein hormone, stimulates the formation of erythrocytes