KINE 2011 Study Guide - Cubic Metre, Red Blood Cell, Litre
13 Dec 2014
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Document Summary
The structure of the erythrocytes is well suited to their primary function of oxygen transport in the blood. Each millilitre of blood contains about 5 billion erythrocytes, commonly reported clinically in a red blood cell count as 5 million cells per cubic millimetre (mm3). They are flat, disc-shaped cells intended in the middle on both sides (they biconcave discs 8 m in diameter, 2 m thick at the outer edges, and 1 m thick in the centre). The flexibility of their membrane, which makes it possible for them to travel through the narrow, tortuous capillaries, enables the delivery of oxygen without rupturing in the process. Red blood cells are able to deform as narrow as 3 m in diameter. But the most important feature that enables erythrocytes to transport oxygen is the haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is a pigment and because of its iron content, it appears reddish when combined with oxygen and bluish when deoxygenated.
