BIOL 600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Abo Blood Group System, Hemolytic Disease Of The Newborn, Buffy Coat
Document Summary
Blood is the body"s interior river of life. it is blood"s uniqueness as a liquid tissue that makes it so interesting to study. In the previous chapter, blood"s role in transporting hormones around the body was explained in this chapter, this key role of transport extends to nutrients, metabolic wastes, agents that combat injury and microbial infection, and, of course, oxygen. Blood is composed of formed elements and plasma. The formed elements are erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets. The physical characteristics of blood, including color, ph, and temperature, are presented, followed by a description of the plasma composition. The next section provides a detailed analysis of each of the formed elements. The function of erythrocytes as carriers of oxygen is explained, highlighting the role of hemoglobin in this capacity. General characteristics of leukocytes are described and then differentiated into granulocytes and agranulocytes, with the role of the cell types each category presented.