Key Terms

Blood: fluid transport medium in the cardiovascular system of a mammal that contains blood
cells and
plasma

Plasma: yellow, watery, fluid part of blood consisting of about 90 per cent water and 10 per
cent proteins; carries many substances in either dissolved or suspended form

Platelet: thrombocyte; crescent-shaped fragment of cells produced in the bone marrow; has
afunction in the clotting of blood

Red blood cell: erythrocyte; small biconcave cell containing haemoglobin that is formed in
the bone
marrow

White blood cell: leucocyte; irregularly shaped cell, produced in the bone marrow, that
carries out the
role of defending the body

Plasma

Plasma is mostly water. Plasma carries:

Plasma proteins include clotting factors, immunoglobulins, albumen,

enzymes

Nutrients absorbed during digestion

Gases including oxygen and carbon dioxide

Excretory waste products such as urea, uric acid or ammonia

Ions, including sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium and phosphate

Regulatory substances such as hormones

Other substances such as vitamins

Red blood cells (erythrocytes)

transport oxygen. Red blood cells are
formed in bone marrow. As the cell
matures, the nucleus breaks down. A
red pigment called haemoglobin
develops in red blood cells.
Haemoglobin binds with oxygen.

The absence of a nucleus allows each

cell to maximise the amount of
haemoglobin it has. The cells are
small, round, biconcave and
flattened. This makes them more
pliable and elastic.