#blood notes

work, work, work

Plasma -- liquid part of blood -- mostly water

Red Blood Cells -- erythrocytes -- carry oxygen

White Blood Cells -- leukocytes -- fight infections

-- liquid in humans and animals

-- not present in insects

-- pushed through organisms by the heart

-- brings nutrients and oxygen to tissues

-- takes away waste and carbon dioxide from tissues

-- made up of      -- plasma      -- red blood cells      -- white blood cells      -- platelets

-- hemoglobin is present in red blood cells

.

-- red blood cells

-- biconcave shape

-- shape provides greater surface area and flexibility

-- lacks a nucleus

-- contains hemoglobin

-- globin = structural protein composed of four polypeptide chains, each containing a heme group

-- heme group = iron-containing functional part of hemoglobin

-- new cells are produced at a rate of 2 million per second

-- cells live for about 120 days

-- new cell division is controlled by erythropoietin

-- if the body sees a foreign antigen, it will attack the red blood cell

-- this causes them to clump together

-- always try to match blood types

-- some blood types do not need to be matched      -- type O is the universal donor      -- type AB is the universal recipient

-- complications of transfusions      -- clumping in small vessels      -- red blood cells are destroyed by immune system      -- flu-like symptoms