BLOOD
▪ Lymphocytes 20%- 25%
Functions of Blood
- Transport of gases, nutrients and waste
products
- Transport of processed molecules
- Transport of regulatory molecules
- Regulation of pH and osmosis
- Maintenance of body temperature
- Protection against foreign substances
- Clot formation
Characteristics of Blood
- Type of connective tissue
- Sticky
o It is viscous because of the
heparin
o Heparin is the normal
anticoagulant of the body
- Heavier than water
- O2 content determines color
- Temperature slightly higher than rest of
body
- Blood pH 7.35- 7.45
- It is slightly alkaline
o Because the ratio in our blood
20:1, bicarbonate (20),
carbonic acid (1)
o Bicarbonate and carbonic acid
are the main buffers of the
body
- Males (5-6 L), females (4-5 L)
o Males have more testosterone,
which auto signals the body to
produce new blood cells
o Female have monthly
menstruation
Composition of Blood
- 55% is plasma
o Protein 7%
▪ Albumins 58%
▪ Globulins 38%
▪ Fibrinogen 4%
o Water 91%
o Other solutes 2%
▪ Ions; nutrients; waste
products; gases;
regulatory substances
- Buffy coat
o Platelets (thrombocytes) 250-
400 thousand
o White blood cells (leukocytes)
5-10 thousand
▪ Neutrophils 60%- 70%
▪ Monocytes 3%- 8%
▪ Eosinophils 2%- 4%
▪ Basophils 0.5% -1%
o WBC found in urine are called
pus cells
- 45% formed elements (cells and cell
fragments)
o Red blood cells (erythrocytes)
4.2- 6.2 million
Plasma
- 55% of total blood
- Pale, yellow liquid that surrounds cells
o Difference bet. plasma &
serum:
o Plasma: contains protein
o Serum: clotted bc it has no
fibrinogen (responsible for clot)
- 91% water, 7% proteins, and 2% other
Formed Elements
- 45% of total blood
- Cells and cell fragments
- Erythrocytes, leukocytes,
thrombocytes
Plasma Proteins
- Albumin
o 58% of plasma protein
o Helps maintain water balance
- Globulin
o 38% of plasma protein
o Helps immune system (where
antibodies are created)
- Fibrinogen
o 4% of plasma proteins
o Aids in clot formation
Erythrocytes
- Red blood cells (RBC)
- Disk- shaped with thick edges
- Non nucleated (nucleus is lost during
development)
- Live for 120 days
o Average lifespan 82- 120 days
- Function: transport O2 to tissues
- 6-8 micrometers (microscope)
- Color salmon pink (under microscope)
Hemoglobin
- Main component of erythrocytes
- Transports )2
 - Each goblin protein is attached to a o Release histamine and
heme molecule heparin
- Each heme contains one iron atom o Dark purple/ blue granules
- O2 binds to iron
- Oxyhemoglobin: hemoglobin with an
o2 attached

Production of Erythrocytes

- Decreased blood O2 levels cause

kidneys to increase production of
erythropoietin
- Erythropoietin stimulates red bone
marrow to produce more erythrocytes
- Increased erythrocytes cause an
increase in blood O2 levels

Fate of Old Erythrocytes and Hemoglobin

- Old rbs’s are removed from blood by

macrophages in spleen and liver Agranulocytes
- Hemoglobin is broken down
- No granules
- Goblin is broken down into amino acids
• Monocytes
- Hemoglobin’s iron is recycled
o Largest
- Heme is converted to bilirubin
o Produce macrophages
- Bilirubin is taken up by liver and
• Lymphocytes
released into small intestine as part of
o Immune response
bile
o Several different types (T
Leukocytes cells and B cells)
o Lead to production of
- White blood cells (WBC)
antibodies
- Lack hemoglobin
- Larger than erythrocytes
- Contain a nucleus
- Function: fight infections

Types of Leukocytes

Granulocytes

- Contain granules
• Neutrophils Platelets
o Most common
- Blood clotting cells
o Remain blood for 10-12 hours
- Produced in red bone marrow
then move to tissues
o Phagocytes Hematopoiesis
o 3-5 lobes
- Process of blood cell formation
• Eosinophils
- In an infant, occurs in liver, thymus
o Reduce inflammation
gland, spleen, lymph nodes, and red
o Increased when there is
bone marrow
parasitic infection
- Adults occurs mainly in red bone
o People with allergies
marrow
o 3-5 lobes; orange-red
- Stem cell
granules
o Original cell line
• Basophils
o Least common
o Like stain
Blood Loss Adhesion – aggregation

- When blood vessels are damaged, - Temporary plug, not stabilized. Must
blood can leak into other tissues and undergo another process to have stable
disrupt normal function plug
- Blood that is lost must be replaced by
production of new blood or by a
transfusion

Preventing Blood Loss

- Vascular spasm
o Temporary constriction of
blood vessel
- Platelet plugs
o Can seal up small breaks in
blood vessels
- Blood clotting (coagulation)

Blood Clotting

- Blood can be transformed from a liquid

to a gel
- Clot
o Network of thread-like proteins
called fibrin that trap blood
cells and fluid
o Depends on clotting factors
- Clotting factors
o Proteins in plasma
o Only activated following injury
o Made in liver
o Require vitamin K

- Thrombin has 2 functions:

o Yields fibrin to fibrinogen
o Activates lysis (that’s why we
have fibrinolysis)
▪ Degrade fibrin to be
dissolved

Steps in Clot Formation

- Injury to a blood vessel cause inactive

clotting factors to become activated
due to exposed connective tissue or
release of thromboplastin
- Prothrombinase (clotting factor) is
formed and acts upon prothrombin
- Prothrombin is switched to its active
form thrombin
 - Thrombin activates fibrinogen into its o Named according to antigen
active from fibrin (ABO)
o Clot should not always be
present
- Fibrin forms a network that traps blood ABO Blood Groups
(clots) TYPE A B AB O
ANTIGEN A B A&B None
Control of Clot Formation
ANTIBODIES Anti-B Anti-A None Anti-A&B
- Clots need to be controlled so they COMMON 2nd 3rd 4th 1st
don’t spread throughout the body
- Anticoagulant
o Prevent clots from forming
o Ex. Heparin and antithrombin
- Injury causes enough clotting factors to
be activated that anticoagulant can’t
work in that particular area of the body
- It is necessary to have fibrinolysis

Clot Retraction and Fibrinolysis

- Clot retraction
o Condensing of clot
o Serum in plasma is squeezed
out of clot
o Helps enhance healing
- Fibrinolysis
o Process of dissolving clot
o Plasminogen (plasma protein)
breaks down clot (fibrin)

Blood Reaction

- Injury or surgery can lead to a blood

- Type O are universal donors because
transfusion
they have no antigens
- Transfusion reaction/ Aggulination
- Type A can receive A and O blood
o Clumping of blood cells (bad)
- Type B can receive B and O blood
- Antigens
- Type AB can receive A, B, and AB blood
o Molecules on surface of
- Types O can only receive O blood
erythrocytes
- Antibodies Rh Blood Group
o Proteins in plasma
- Blood Groups - Rh positive means you have Rh antigens
- 95-85% of the population is Rh+
 - Antibodies only develop if an Rh-
person is exposed to Rh+ blood by
transfusion or from mother to fetus

Example of Rh Reaction

- If mother is Rh- and fetus is Rh+ the

mother can be exposed to Rh+ blood if
fetal blood leaks through placenta and
mixes with mother’s blood
- First time this occurs, mother’s blood
produces antibodies against antigens
- Any repeated mixing of blood causes a
reaction

- Prothrombin time:
o Time it takes for blood to begin
clotting (9-12 sec)
- White blood cell count
o Total number of WBC
- White blood cell differential count
- Reagent used to screen the blood type o Determines the % of each 5
- Blue: Anti-A; Yellow: Anti-B; Colorless: kinds of leukocytes
Anti-D o Neutrophils: 60-70%
o Lymphocytes: 20-25%
Hemolytic Disease of Newborn
o Monocytes: 3-8%
- Occurs when mother produces anti-Rh o Eosinophils: 2-4%
antibodies that cross placenta, and o Basophils: 0.5-1%
agglutination and hemolysis of fetal
White Blood Cell Disorders
erythrocytes occurs
- Can be fatal to fetus - Leukopenia
- Prevented if mother is treated with o Low WBC count
RhoGAM which contains antibodies o Caused by radiation,
against Rh antigens chemotherapy, drugs, tumors,
viral infection
Diagnostic Blood Tests
- Leukocytosis
- Complete blood count o High WBC count
o Provides information such as o Caused by infection and
RBS count, hemoglobin, leukemia
hematocrit, and WBC count
- Hematocrit
o % of total blood volume
composed of RBC
- Hemoglobin
o Determines amount of
hemoglobin
o Indicate anemia