Lab 2: Blood Sampling

Question 1

What is plasma?

Answer 1

Plasma is the fluid matrix in which the cellular elements of blood are suspended in

Plasma severs as the fluid medium for transport of materials through the blood and is also important for absorbing and distributing heat.

Question 2

What are the components of plasma?

Answer 2

• water
• plasma proteins (antibodies, albumin, ions, nutrients, waste products, gases, and hormones)

Question 3

What are the cellular elements of blood?

Answer 3

• red blood cells (erythrocytes)
• white blood cells (leukocytes)
• platelets (thrombocytes)

Question 4

Describe the structure of erythrocytes.

What cellular component do they lack?

Answer 4

Erythrocytes are flat, biconcave, disc-shaped cells that lack a nucleus to maximize space for hemoglobin molecules which are responsible for carrying oxygen.

Question 5

What regulates erythropoiesis?

(Production of red blood cells)

Answer 5

Erythropoiesis is regulated by the hormone erythropoietin, which is synthesized by the adult kidney in response to hypoxia.

Question 6

What percentage of the blood is erythrocytes vs leukocytes?

Answer 6

Erythrocytes = 99%
Leukocytes = <1%

Question 7

What is leukocytosis?

Answer 7

The prescence of elevated leukocytes in the blood can indicate infection, inflammatory response, illness, leukemia, etc

Question 8

What is leukopenia?

Answer 8

A low leukocyte count can indicate a person may have an immunodeficiency disease

Question 9

What is the role of thrombocytes?

Answer 9

Essential for controlling bleeding from an injured vessel through a process known as coagulation cascade.

Question 10

What is thrombocytopenia?

Answer 10

A low number of platelets in the blood leads to problems with the formation of blood clots

Question 11

What is thrombocytosis?

Answer 11

A high platelet count causes the blood to be thick and flow more slowly which can result in blood clots.

Question 12

What is hematocrit?

Answer 12

The percentage of erythrocytes in the total blood volume

Question 13

What are the 3 causes of anemia?

Anemia is condition causing a decrease in the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood

Answer 13

1. Blood loss
2. Decreased red blood cell production
3. Increased red blood cell breakdown

Question 14

What determines different blood types?

Answer 14

Surface markers, or antigens, found on the red blood cells.

Question 15

How is the Rh antibodies different from ABO antibodies?

Every person has an Rh blood type: either Rh positive or Rh negative and will produce Rh antibodies if Rh negative.

Answer 15

Anti-D antibodies are only produced when the body is exposed to the Rh antigen.

Question 16

What happens if the wrong blood type is given during a transfusion?

Answer 16

If the wrong blood type is used, the antibodies in the plasma of the recipient will clump, or agglutinate, with the antigens on the surface of the red blood cells from the donor.

Question 17

Describe the heritability of blood types.

Answer 17

Each person inherits 2 ABO blood type alleles. The A and B alleles are co-dominant, while the O allele is recessive.