Human Anatomy,

First Edition

McKinley & O'Loughlin

Chapter 21 Lecture Outline:

Blood

Blood
Considered a connective tissue because it contains cells, a liquid
ground substance (called plasma), and dissolved protein fibers.
About four times more viscous (or thicker) than water.
Temperature of blood is about 1C higher than measured body
temperature.
Can be broken down into its liquid and cellular components by a
machine called a centrifuge.
blood is withdrawn from a vein and collected in a centrifuge tube
tube is placed into the centrifuge, which then spins it in a circular
motion for several minutes
rotational movement separates the blood into liquid and cellular
components

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Components of Blood
Erythrocytes (or red blood cells)
form the lower layer of the centrifuged blood
typically make up about 44% of a blood sample

Buffy coat
makes up the middle layer
thin, slightly gray-white layer composed of cells called
leukocytes (or white blood cells) and cell fragments called
platelets
forms less than 1% of a blood sample

Plasma
straw-colored liquid that rises to the top
generally makes up about 55% of blood
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Components of Blood
Erythrocytes and the components of the buffy coat
are called the formed elements.
not cells, merely fragments broken off from a larger cell

Formed elements and the liquid plasma compose

whole blood.

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Functions of Blood
Transportation
Transports numerous elements and compounds
throughout the body.

erythrocytes carry oxygen from the lungs to body cells and

then transport carbon dioxide from the cells back to the
lungs for expulsion from the body
blood plasma
transports nutrients that have been absorbed from the
GI tract
hormones secreted by the endocrine organs to their
target cells
plasma
carries waste products from the cells to organs such as
the kidneys, where these waste products are removed

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Functions of Blood
Regulation of Body Temp.
Regulates body temperature.
plasma absorbs and distributes heat throughout
the body
for cooling the blood vessels in the dermis dilate
and dissipate the excess heat through the
integument
when the body needs to conserve heat, the
dermal blood vessels constrict, and the warm
blood is shunted to deeper blood vessels in the
body
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Functions of Blood
Regulation of pH Levels
pH is a measure of how alkaline or acidic a fluid is.
Neutral pH is measured at exactly 7.
Acidic fluids (e.g., orange juice) are between 0 and 7.
Alkaline fluids (e.g., milk) are between 7 and 14.
Blood plasma contains compounds and ions that may
be distributed to the fluid among tissues (interstitial
fluid) to help maintain normal tissue pH.
Blood plasma pH is continuously regulated at a value
of 7.4 the pH level required for normal cellular
functioning.

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Functions of Blood
Maintenance of Fluid
Levels
Maintains normal fluid levels in the cardiovascular
system.
Prevents fluid loss.
Constant exchange of fluid between the blood plasma
and the interstitial fluid.
If too much fluid is absorbed in the blood, high blood
pressure results.
If too much fluid escapes the bloodstream and enters
the tissues, blood pressure drops to unhealthy low
levels, and the tissues swell with excess fluid.
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Functions of Blood
Maintenance of Fluid
Levels
To maintain balance of fluid exchange between the
blood and the interstitial fluid, blood contains
compounds (such as salts and some proteins) to
prevent excess fluid loss in the plasma.

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Functions of Blood
Protection
Leukocytes (white blood cells) help guard against
infection by mounting an immune response if a
pathogen or an antigen is found.
Plasma transports antibodies, which are molecules
that can immobilize antigens until a leukocyte can
completely kill or remove the antigen.
Platelets and blood proteins protect the body against
blood loss by forming blood clots on damaged
vessels.

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Components of Plasma
Complex mixture of water, proteins, and other
solutes.
When the proteins are moved from plasma, the
remaining fluid is termed serum.
Water makes up about 92% of plasmas total
volume.
water facilitates the transport of materials in the plasma

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Plasma Proteins
The next most abundant materials in plasma
are the plasma proteins.
Make up about 7% of the plasma.
6 and 8 grams of protein in a volume of 100
milliliters of blood (referred to as g/dl)

The plasma proteins include:

albumins
globulins
fibrinogen
regulatory proteins
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Plasma Proteins
Albumins
Smallest and most abundant of the plasma proteins.
make up approximately 58% of total plasma proteins

Regulate water movement between the blood and

interstitial fluid.
Albumins act as transport proteins that carry ions,
hormones, and some lipids in the blood.

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Plasma Proteins
Globulins
Second largest group of plasma proteins, forming
about 37% of all plasma proteins.
Smaller alpha-globulins and the larger beta-globulins
primarily bind, support, and protect certain waterinsoluble or hydrophobic molecules, hormones, and
ions.
Also called immunoglobulins or antibodies.
Produced by some of our defense cells to protect the
body against pathogens that may cause disease.

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Plasma Proteins
Fibrinogen
Makes up about 4% of all plasma proteins.
Responsible for blood clot formation.
Following trauma to the walls of blood vessels,
fibrinogen is converted into long, insoluble strands of
fibrin, which is the essence of a blood clot.

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Plasma Proteins
Regulatory Proteins
Form a very minor class of plasma proteins.
<1% of total plasma proteins

Include enzymes to accelerate chemical reactions in

the blood and hormones being transported
throughout the body to target cells.

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Solutes
Plasma is an extracellular fluid (ECF).
it includes all body fluids that are not found inside cells
Plasma is somewhat like interstitial fluid, in that
both have similar concentrations of nutrients, waste
products, and electrolytes
Concentration of dissolved oxygen is higher in plasma than in
interstitial fluid, because the cells take up and use the oxygen
from the interstitial fluid during energy production.
Difference in concentration ensures that oxygen will continue to
diffuse from the blood into the tissues.
Difference in concentration ensures that carbon dioxide will
readily diffuse from the interstitial fluid into the blood, where it
will be carried to the lungs and discharged from the body.
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Formed Elements in the

Blood
Erythrocytes
make up more than 99% of formed elements
primary function is to transport respiratory gases in the
blood

Leukocytes
make up less than .01% of formed elements
contribute to defending the body against pathogens

Platelets
make up less than 1% of formed elements and
help with blood clotting

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Hematocrit
Percentage of erythrocytes in the blood.
Values vary slightly and are dependent on age and sex.
Adult males range between 42% and 56% .
Females range from 38% to 46%.
Childrens hematocrit ranges also vary and differ from adult
values.
Altitude can affect the hematocrit.
body compensates by making more erythrocytes
more erythrocytes in the blood can carry more oxygen to
the tissues

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Erythrocytes
Mature erythrocytes lack nuclei.
Transport oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the
tissues and the lungs.
Lack of nuclei enables them to carry respiratory
gases more efficiently.

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24

Hemoglobin in
Erythrocytes
Every erythrocyte is filled with approximately 280
million molecules of a red-pigmented protein called
hemoglobin.
Transports oxygen and carbon dioxide, and is
responsible for the characteristic bright red color of
arterial blood.
Hemoglobin that contains no oxygen has a deep red
color that is perceived as blue because the blood
within these veins is observed through the layers of
the skin and the subcutaneous tissue.
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Hemoglobin in
Erythrocytes
Each hemoglobin molecule consists of four protein building
blocks, called globins.
Alpha (a) chains and beta (b) chains.
All globin chains contain a nonprotein (or heme) group that is in
the shape of a ring, with an iron (Fe) ion in its center.
Oxygen binds to these iron ions for transport in the blood.
Each hemoglobin molecule has four iron ions and is capable of
binding four molecules of oxygen.
Oxygen binding is fairly weak to ensure rapid attachment and
detachment of oxygen with hemoglobin.
Oxygen binds to the hemoglobin when the erythrocytes pass
through the blood vessels of the lungs.
It leaves the hemoglobin when the erythrocytes pass through
the blood vessels of body tissues.
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Antibodies
An antibody interacts with a specific antigen.
The ABO blood group has both anti-A and anti-B
antibodies that react with the surface antigen A and
the surface antigen B, respectively.
The antibodies in your blood plasma do not recognize
the surface antigens on your erythrocytes.

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Leukocytes
Leukocytes help initiate an immune response and
defend the body against invading pathogens.
Leukocytes are true cells in that they contain a
nucleus and cellular organelles.
Leukocytes also differ from erythrocytes in that they
are about 1.5 to 3 times larger, and they do not
contain hemoglobin.

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Leukocytes
The five types of leukocytes are divided into two
distinguishable classesgranulocytes and
agranulocytesbased upon the presence or absence
of visible organelles termed specific granules.

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Leukocytes Granulocytes
Neutrophil
6070% of the total number of leukocytes

Eosinophils have reddish, or pink-orange granules in their

cytoplasm.
constitute about 24% of the total number of leukocytes
nucleus usually has two lobes, which are connected by a thin
strand

Basophils are

1.5 times larger than erythrocytes

least numerous of the granulocytes
constitute about 0.51% of the total number of leukocytes
always exhibit a bilobed nucleus and abundant blue-violet granules
in the cytoplasm

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Leukocytes
Agranulocytes
Agranulocytes are leukocytes that have such small
granules in their cytoplasm that they are frequently
overlooked upon casual observationhence the
name agranulocyte.
Agranulocytes include both lymphocytes and
monocytes.

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Leukocytes
Agranulocytes Lymphocytes
T-lymphocytes (T-cells)
manage and direct an immune response
some directly attack foreign cells and virusinfected cells

B-lymphocytes (B-cells)
stimulated to become plasma cells and produce
antibodies

Natural killer cells (NK cells)

attack abnormal and infected tissue cells
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Leukocytes
Agranulocytes - Monocytes

Up to three times the diameter of an erythrocyte.

Constitute about 38% of all leukocytes.
Nucleus is kidney-shaped or U-shaped.
Macrophages phagocytize bacteria, cell fragments,
dead cells, and debris.

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Platelets

Irregular, membrane-enclosed cellular fragments that are about 2

micrometers in diameter (less than one-fourth the size of an
erythrocyte).
In stained preparations, they exhibit a dark central region.
Sometimes called thrombocytes.

Continually produced in the red bone marrow by cells called

megakaryocytes.
Severe trauma to a blood vessel causes the blood to coagulate,
or clot.
Components in the plasma produce a web of fibrin that traps
erythrocytes and platelets in the web to halt blood flow.

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