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Blood circulation:
Heart→arteries
→capillaries →veins
→heart →lungs →heart
BLOOD
Erythrocytes Leukocytes
Thrombocytes
(red blood (white blood
(platelets)
cells, RBC) cells, WBC)
CHARACTERISTICS OF BLOOD
Properties
Regulation
(maintenance of
homeostasis)
Protection
FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD
Distribution & transport
Respiration
O2from lung to tissues
CO2 from tissues to lung
Nutrition
Nutrientsfrom intestine to tissues for use in
metabolism
Excretion
Waste products from metabolism, e.g. urea & uric
acid from cells to organs for excretion
Hormones & enzymes
FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD
Regulation (maintenance of homeostasis)
body temperature
Absorbs and distributes heat throughout the
body and to the skin surface to encourage
heat loss
normal body pH, fluid & electrolyte balance
Through continuous exchange of its
constituents with those of interstitial fluid
FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD
Protection
Defense against infection by foreign
organisms
Prevents loss of blood by the mechanisms
of coagulation (haemostasis)
HAEMATOCRIT
HAEMATOCRIT
Percentage of total blood volume occupied by
RBCs (packed cell volume)
Average: 45 %
Males: 42 – 48 %
Females: 36 – 42 %
HAEMATOCRIT
Significance of haematocrit (Hct)
Index of circulating red cells mass
Lower red cell mass (anaemia) → lower Hct
Higher red cell mass (polycythaemia) → higher Hct
Nutrients
Other solutes 2 %
Waste products
Formed elements
Gases
(number per mm3)
Plasma
55 % Regulatory
Platelets Substances
150 – 400 thousand
Neutrophils
Formed Leukocytes 60 – 70 %
Elements 5 - 9 thousand
45 % Lymphocytes
20 – 40 %
Monocytes
Erythrocytes 2–6%
4.2 – 6.5 million Eosinophils
1–4%
Basophils
0.25 – 0.5 %
PLASMA
Straw / pale yellow colour, slightly opalescent
liquid
Contributes 55 % of total blood volume
Composed of 92 % water and 8 % solids
Osmolarity: 285 – 300 mOsm/L
Solids:
Gases – O2 & CO2
Electrolytes – Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO3-,
phosphate, etc
hormones, nutrients, trace elements, waste products
plasma proteins
PLASMA PROTEINS
Haemopoietic sites
In foetus: liver, spleen & thymus
After birth until 13 – 15 years: marrow of all
bones
After 18 years: bone marrow of vertebrae,
ribs, sternum, cranium, pelvis, proximal femur
& proximal humerus
HAEMOPOIESIS
The maturation, development & formation
of blood cells
Pluripotent haemotopoietic stem cells: the
mitotic precursors to blood cells before
differentiation
Differentiation: maturing cell becomes
“committed” to being certain type of blood
cell
HAEMOPOIESIS
HAEMOPOIESIS
ERYTHROCYTES
O2
2+
Average: 15 g/dL
New-born (2 – 5 months): 17 – 23 g/dL
Toddler (3 – 10 years): 11 – 15 g/dL
Males: 14 – 18 g/dL
Females: 12 – 16 g/dL
3 – 5 days 2 days
(in bone marrow) (enter circulation)
FACTORS NECESSARY FOR
ERYTHROPOIESIS
Hormone erythropoietin (EPO)
Glycoprotein hormone
Synthesised in the kidney (85%) & liver (15%)
Released into the blood stream in response to
hypoxia (decreased tissue oxygenation)
↓ O2 levels can be resulted from:
↓RBCs due to haemorrhage or excess RBC destruction
↓Availability of O2, e.g., at high altitudes or during pneumonia
↑tissue demands for O2 (in aerobic exercise)
Stimulates production of proerythroblast
↑↑ rate of new RBC production
CONTROL OF ERYTHROPOIESIS
1 The kidneys detect reduced O2-
carrying capacity of the blood
2
2 When ↓ O2 is delivered to the
kidneys, they secrete EPO into
the blood
Anaemia
Reduction in the Hb concentration below the
lower limit of normal range with respect to age,
gender and race of an individual
Always associated with pallor (pale)
CAUSES OF ANAEMIA
Insufficient number of RBCs
RBC number < 5 X 106/ µl blood
Haemorrhagic anaemia
Results from blood loss
Haemolytic anaemia
Results from RBC rupture, or lyse, prematurely
Aplastic anaemia
↓↓ production of RBCs in the bone marrow
Tumors, drugs & chemicals, x-rays
CAUSES OF ANAEMIA
Low haemoglobin content
Hb concentration < 11 – 12 g/dL blood
Hb molecules are normal, but RBC content <
normal
Megaloblastic anaemia
Microcytic anaemia
CAUSES OF ANAEMIA
Low haemoglobin content
Megaloblastic anaemia
Results from deficiency of vitamin B12 &/or folic
acid
Pernicious anaemia
Normal RBC
POLYCYTHAEMIA
Hb concentration > 16 – 18 g/dL or RBC number
> 8 x 106 /µL blood
Cancer of the bone marrow causing ↑ production
of RBCs – polycythaemia vera (primary
polycythaemia)
Conditions causing hypoxia (through EPO) –
secondary polycythaemia:
Natives living in high altitudes
Heart disease
Lung disease
ERYTHROCYTE SENDIMENTATION RATE
(ESR)
When blood to which an anticoagulant has been
added is allowed to stand in narrow tube, the
RBCs form a pile of aggregates (rouleaux)
Rouleaux gradually sediment leaving a clear
zone of plasma above
The length (mm) of the column of clear plasma
after one hour is the measure of ESR
Normal ESR values:
Male: 3 – 5 mm
Female: 4 – 7 mm
FACTORS AFFECTING ESR