Blood and Red Cells

29.2 The color of blood is determined by the state of oxygenation of its red cells. When blood leaves the heart, it has been oxygenated in the lungs, and therefore arterial blood is bright red. When blood has passed through the tissues, oxygen has been removed from the red cells, so the blood appears dark red in the veins.

29.3 Nutrients carried in the blood include sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals (Applegate, 2000, 221). Two gases found in blood are carbon dioxide and oxygen. Three ions found in blood are sodium, potassium, and calcium.

29.4 Plasma consists of about 90 percent water, and the remaining 10 percent is made up of over 100 dissolved organic and inorganic solutes (Applegate, 2000, 221). It has a viscous consistency because of all the solutes it contains, and is straw colored.

29.5 The average lifespan of a red cell is 120 days (Applegate, 2000, 231). The anucleate condition of the red cell does not affect its lifespan per se, but it does mean that red cells cannot reproduce themselves while they are in the circulation. Red cells are produced from stem cells in the bone marrow, and they lose their nucleus before they enter the circulation. They usually enter the circulation as immature red cells known as reticulocytes. Red cells in the circulation are continuously being replaced by n

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he total count only gives you an overall number of white cells, and if it is above or below normal; it does not tell you which types of cells are increased or decreased. A differential count will tell you exactly which cells are not within the normal range, e.g. a raised eosinophil count suggests a parasitic infection, a raised neutrophil count suggests a bacterial infection, a lowered lymphocyte count suggests immunosuppression. When trying to pin down the pathology of a disease, it is important to know if any of the white cell populations are raised or lowered, because this helps to define the disease. 29.9 Athletic training, such as running four or five miles a day over a period of six to 9 months, increases the lung capacity and oxygen intake, and leads to an increased red blood cell mass and expanded vascular volume (Schumacher, Temme, Bueltermann, Schmid and Berg, 2003). This results in higher than normal red cell counts and increased hematocrit readings. A permanent move from sea level to a high altitude means having to adapt to a lower oxygen pressure at the higher altitude. This means the oxygen saturation of red cells will be decreased at the higher elevation. This will lead to an increased number of red cells i
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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