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THE COMPONENTS OF
BLOOD
1 S6 Biology Unit 4
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THE BLOOD

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The blood is the main transport medium in your body.
But it has several functions as well.
 It defends the body against disease

 It maintains diffusion gradients. For instance, it

transports respiratory gases to and from the alveoli
and it removes absorbed food from the villi of the
small intestine
 It acts as a buffer. Many of the blood proteins are
able to neutralize excess acid or alkali and so keep
the pH of the blood constant
 It provides pressure for such processes as the
formation of tissue fluid and filtration by the kidneys
 It distributes the heat around the body. 3
BLOOD PLASMA

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About 55% of your blood is a liquid and about
45% is made up of cells.
The pale yellow liquid fraction is called
plasma. The composition of the plasma (its pH
and salt concentration) is regulated by the
kidneys.
Plasma contains:
 Plasma proteins, such as albumins (for the
osmotic balance of the blood), antibodies (for
immunity) and clotting factors such as
fibrinogen.
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 Absorbed food molecules, such as glucose,
amino acids and fatty acids
CONTINUED

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 Excretory waste products, such as carbon
dioxide, urea and uric acid,
 Hormones, salts and heat.

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1. BLOOD CELLS

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RED BLOOD CELLS
 Transport O2 from lungs --> respiring tissues, carry

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CO2 away from cells
 Very small and have the shape of a biconcave disc
--> ↑surface area/volume ratio --> rapid diffusion
of O2 into and out of them. 
 Contain Hb, which combines with O2 to form
oxyhaemoglobin (HbO2) in areas of high
concentration (lungs) and releases O2 in areas of
low concentration (respiring tissues).
 Have no nucleus or mitochondria. No nucleus -->
more surface area to carry Hb and hence O2.
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WHITE BLOOD CELLS
(LEUKOCYTES)

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Defend the body against infection and disease
2 main types: Lymphocytes + Phagocytes

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 LYMPHOCYTES

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 Recognise virus/bacteria as being foreign and
make antibodies to attack and destroy them
or destroy them directly.
  Each lymphocyte can recognise one
particular pathogen and respond to it by
secreting one particular type of antibody or
by attacking it. 

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 PHAGOCYTES

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 Destroy unwanted cells (damaged body cells
or pathogens like virus, bacteria) by
engulfing them in a process known as
phagocytosis. They take the germ into the
cell then digest and destroy it.
 Larger than red blood cells and often have a
lobed nucleus. 
 Have a flexible shape so that they can engulf
microorganisms

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PLATELETS (THROMBOCYTES)

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 Fragments of larger cells
 Help blood to clot by clumping together and
forming a plug. 
 Protect the body by stopping bleeding

 No nucleus.

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2. TISSUE FLUID AND LYMPH

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Capillaries have tiny gaps between the cells in
their walls. Near the arteriole end of capillary,
there is relatively high pressure inside the
capillary, and plasma leaks out through these
gaps to fill the spaces between the body cells.
This leaked plasma is called tissue fluid.

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 Tissue fluid is therefore very similar to blood plasma.
However, very large molecules such as albumin (a
protein carried in solution in blood plasma) and other
plasma proteins cannot get through the pores and so
remain in the blood plasma.
 The tissue fluid bathes the body cells. Substances such
as oxygen, glucose or urea can move between the blood
plasma and the cells by diffusing through the tissue fluid.
 Some tissue fluid moves back into the capillaries,
becoming part of the blood plasma once more. This
happens especially at the venule end of the capillary,
where blood pressure is lower, producing a pressure
gradient down which the tissue fluid can flow. However,
some of the tissue fluid collects into blind-ending vessels
called lymphatic vessels. It is then called lymph. 18
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 Lymphatic vessels have valves that allow
fluid to flow into them and along them but
not back out again. They carry the lymph
towards the subclavian veins (near the
collarbone) where it is returned to the blood. 
 The lymph passes through lymphatic glands
where white blood cells accumulate. Lymph
therefore tends to carry higher densities of
white blood cells than are found in blood
plasma or tissue fluid.

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THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLOOD,
TISSUE FLUID AND LYMPH
 Blood is a suspension of red and white cells and

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platelets in plasma. When left to settle or spun in a
centrifuge, blood separates into these 3
components.
 Tissue fluid is a colourless fluid that is formed from
blood plasma by pressure filtration through capillary
walls. It surrounds all the cells of the body and all
exchanges between blood and cells occur through it.
 Lymph is tissue fluid that has drained into
lymphatic vessels. It passes through lymph nodes
where it gains white cells and antibodies.  Lymphatic
vessels absorb hormones from some endocrines
glands and fat in the small intestine.
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Components Blood Tissue fluid Lymph
Red blood cells (+) (- ) (- )
White blood cells (+) some some
Water (+) (+) (+)
Plasma proteins (+) very few very few
Na ions (+) (+) (+)
Glucose (+) (+) very little
Antibodies (+) (+) (+)
Fats (+) some (+) especially after meal

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QUESTION: COPY AND COMPLETE THE
FOLLOWING PASSAGE.

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Blood consists of a pale yellow liquid called……
, in which are found a number of different kinds
of cells. The plasma contains various proteins,
such as albumins, which help to maintain the
…… …….of the blood; ……., which are
antibodies; and ……., which are involved in
blood clotting. The red blood cells, or
……..,transport…….. White blood cells, or
……….., are of two main types: ………,which
engulf bacteria and cell debris, and
………..,which produce antibodies as part of the
body’s ………response. ……..are cell fragments 22
involved in the ……….of blood.