Physiology MD Blood

BLOOD
Blood vessel White blood cell

Red blood cell
platelet
Plasma
Characteristics Of Blood
• Liquid connective tissue

• 4-5 times more viscous than water
• Slightly alkaline, pH 7.35–7.45
• Warmer than body temperature
• Volume is 4-6 liters
• Men=5-6 L
• Women=4-5 L
Centrifuged Blood Sample
Separation of Components
Plasma = Less Dense
Platelets / WBC’s
RBC
More Dense
Blood Composition
1. Cellular components (Formed elements)

45%
• Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)
• White Blood Cells (Leucocytes)
• Platelets (Thrombocytes)
2. Plasma 55%
• 98% water, ions, plasma proteins (Albumin,
globulin, Fibrinogen)
• Same ionic composition as interstitial fluid
6
Functions Of Blood
• Transport • Homeostasis
- Oxygen and carbon - pH
dioxide
- Hormones - Body temperature
- Nutrients - Fluid and electrolyte
- Wastes balance
• Protection
- Clotting mechanisms
- Phagocytosis and
antibody production
Components of Plasma
Blood plasma Consists of:

• Water 90%
• Plasma Proteins 6-8 %
• Electrolytes (Na+ & Cl-) 1%
Other components:
• Nutrients (e.g. Glucose and amino acids)
• Hormones (e.g. Cortisol, thyroxine)
• Wastes (e.g. Urea)
• Blood gases (e.g. CO2, O2)
•Respiratory gases – oxygen and carbon dioxide
Functions of Plasma Components
1. Water
Transport medium; carries heat
2. Electrolytes
Membrane excitability
Osmotic distribution of fluid b/t ECF & ICF
Buffering of pH changes
3. Nutrients, wastes, gases, hormones
No function – just being transported
Functions of Plasma Proteins
Plasma Proteins: (albumins, globulins, fibrinogen)
1. Maintaining constant blood volume(albumin)
2. Buffering pH changes
3. Transport of materials through blood (such as water
insoluble hormones)
4. immunity, antibodies ( immunoglobulins)
5. Clotting factors (e.g. fibrinogen)
Cellular Elements of Blood
1. Red Blood Cells

2. White Blood Cells
3. Platelets
Genesis of Blood Cells
All blood cells are formed from Pluripotential

hematopoietic stem cells  committed cells:
• Committed stem cells for RBC
• Committed stem cells for WBC
Growth of different stems cells are controlled by
different growth factors
12
RBC’s WBC’ s
RBC’S (Erythrocytes)
• Most numerous formed element with (4.8 to 5.4
million per mm3)
• Shape - a biconcave disc
• Can change shape
• Life span about 120 days
• No Nucleus / organelles
• Contains hemoglobin
Primary Function = Transport oxygen from the

lungs to the cells of the body & assist with CO2
removal
RBC’S (Erythrocytes)
• Lack intracellular organelles necessary for

cellular repair, growth, division
• Short Life Span (~120 days)
• Fragile - prone to rupture
• Ruptured RBC’s are destroyed mainly in spleen
• Phagocytic WBC’s “clear the debris”
Production of RBC
• Early few weeks of embryo nucleated RBCs are
formed in yolk sac.
• Middle trimester mainly in liver & spleen & lymph
nodes.
• Last months RBCs are formed in bone marrow of
all bones
• Bone marrow of flat bone continue to produce
RBC into adult life
• Shaft of long bone stop to produce RBC at
puberty
17
Hemoglobin (HB)
• HB is made up of two
polypeptides,  chains and
 chains.
• Each polypeptide has
alpha helical segments
folded and bent into a
globular configuration,
with a heme ring within a
pocket where the iron
molecule can interact with
oxygen.
Life Cycle of Erythrocytes
Bilirubin
Bile: liver secretion that is poured into the duodenum to aid in digestion
and absorption of fats.
Increase in bilirubin concentration in blood leads to jaundice which may be
due to several factors such as blockage of bile duct or massive hemolysis of
red blood cells (increase bilirubin in blood).
Regulation of Erythropoiesis
• Hormonal Controls
• Erythropoietin (RBC and Hb amounts, availability of O2)
• Thyroid hormone
• Growth hormone
• Testosterone
• Dietary Controls
• Adequate amino acids and lipids
• Iron
• Vitamin B12 and folic acid
Regulation of Erythropoiesis
• Erythropoiesis is stimulated by erythropoietin
hormone produced by the kidney (90%) and
the liver (10%) in response to hypoxia (low
oxygen in the blood)
• Hypoxia caused by:
• Low RBC count (Anemia)
• Hemorrhage
• High altitude
• Prolong heart failure
• Lung disease 23
Tissue oxygenation and RBC formation
24
Iron Distribution in the Human
Body
• The total quantity of iron in the body averages 4-5g
• 65 % in the form of hemoglobin
• 4 % in the form of myoglobin
• 1 % in the form of the various heme compounds
0.1% is combined with the protein transferrin in
the blood plasma
• 15 to 30 % is stored for later use, mainly in the
reticuloendothelial system and liver cells,
principally in the form of ferritin.
Daily Loss of Iron
• A man excretes about 0.6 milligram of iron

each day, mainly into the feces.
• Additional quantities of iron are lost when
bleeding occurs.
• For a woman, additional menstrual loss of
blood brings long term iron loss to an
average of about 1.3 mg/day
RBC Maturation factors Dietary
Controls
• Vitamin B12-Cobalamine
• Produced by gut bacteria
• Is essential for the synthesis DNA.
• Absorbed in terminal ileum with intrinsic
factor’ help.
• Folic acid:
• Is essential for the synthesis DNA.
• Synthesized by microorganisms and higher
plants.
• Absorbed in the proximal jejunum.
Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid
• Lack of folic acid and vitB12: give rise to large

immature cells due to DNA synthesis
derangement, Megaloblastic RBC
HEMATOCRIT
• 47% +/- 5% in males

• 45% +/- 5% in females
RBC Disorders
Anemia – low hematocrit, that is below-normal oxygen-
carrying capacity of the blood, due to :
- Insufficient number of RBCs
- Low hemoglobin
- Abnormal hemoglobin
Nutritional, pernicious, aplastic, renal, hemorrhagic,
hemolytic
Polycythemia- abnormally high hematocrit, that is too
many RBCs in circulation. Types:
-Primary
-Secondary
Leukocytes
• Less numerous than RBC (less than 1% of blood
with normal range of 4800 – 10,800 WBC/ml)
- Critical defense cells of the body
- Distinct nuclei present
• Physical and chemical properties
- Capable of diapedesis
- Chemotaxis: attracted by chemical substances released
by bacteria and foreign substances.
- Movement: Move to chemotaxic source
- Phagocytosis: engulf and digest
Leukocytes
Mobile units of body’s defense system, “Seek and

Destroy” Functions:
- Destroy invading microorganisms
- Destroy abnormal cells (ie: cancer )
Clean up cellular debris (phagocytosis)
Types of Leukocytes
Agranulocytes Granulocytes
Each WBC has a specific function

NEUTROPHILS
50-70% of all leukocytes
(most abundant of WBC’s)
Important in inflammatory
responses
Phagocytes that engulf bacteria

older cells, dead tissues, and other foreign substances
EOSINOPHILS
1-4% of the WBC's
Attack parasitic worms
Important in allergic reactions

BASOPHILS
0.5% of the WBC's
Release histamine, serotonin,

bradykinin and heparin
Important in Allergic
Reactions
MONOCYTES
• 2-6 % of the WBC's
• Exit blood (diapedesis) go into tissues to become
macrophages
• Roles:
- Engulf and clear bacteria, necrotic tissues, dead
neutrophils, dead cells and fragments
- Activate lymphocytes to execute specific immune
response
- Recognize and kill cancer cells
- Produce many kinds of cytokines
LYMPHOCYTES
• 25-33 % of the WBC's

• Development of lymphocyte
- T lymphocyte:
lymphocytic stem cells → T lymphocytes (thymus gland)
- B lymphocyte:
lymphocytic stem cells → B lymphocytes (lymphoid tissue).
• Functions:
- T lymphocytes: cellular type of immunity
- B lymphocytes: humoral immunity
Lymphocytes
B-lymphocytes:
Produce Antibodies
T-lymphocytes:
Directly destroy virus-
invaded cells and cancer
cells
Lymphocytes
• Leukocytosis (amounts greater than 11,000

WBC/ml)
• Leukopenia (amounts less than 4,000 WBC/ml)
• Leukemia of the blood
Immunity
- The human body has the ability to resist almost all
types of organisms or toxins that tend to damage the
tissues and organs. This capability is called immunity.
- Immunity falls into two major types:
- Acquired immunity
- Innate immunity
Innate Immunity
- An additional portion of immunity results from
general processes, rather than from processes
directed at specific disease organisms. This is
called innate immunity. It includes the following:
1. Phagocytosis of bacteria and other invaders by white
blood cells and cells of the tissue macrophage system
Innate Immunity
2. Destruction of swallowed organisms by the acid

secretions of the stomach and the digestive enzymes.
3. Resistance of the skin to invasion by organisms.
4. Presence in the blood of certain chemical compounds
that attach to foreign organisms or toxins and destroy
them.
Acquired immunity
- Much of immunity is acquired immunity that does not

develop until after the body is first attacked by a
bacterium, virus, or toxin, often requiring weeks or
months to develop the immunity
- Acquired immunity is caused by a special immune
system that forms antibodies and/or activated
lymphocytes that attack and destroy the specific
invading organism or toxin
Types of Acquired Immunity
-Two basic but closely allied types of acquired immunity

occur in the body:
- Humoral immunity or B-cell immunity, where the body
develops circulating antibodies, which are globulin molecules
in the blood plasma that are capable of attacking the invading
agent
- Cell-mediated immunity or T-cell immunity, where there is
formation of large numbers of activated T lymphocytes that
are specifically crafted in the lymph nodes to destroy the
foreign agent.
Primary response versus Secondary
response
• Differences between the primary response for forming
antibodies that occurs on first exposure to a specific
antigen and the secondary response that occurs after
second exposure to the same antigen.
• There is 1-week delay in the appearance of the
primary response, its weak potency, and its short life.
• The secondary response, by contrast, begins rapidly
after exposure to the antigen (often within hours), is
far more potent, and forms antibodies for many
months rather than for only a few weeks

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BLOOD

Blood vessel White blood cell

• Liquid connective tissue

Plasma = Less Dense

1. Cellular components (Formed elements)

Blood plasma Consists of:

1. Red Blood Cells

All blood cells are formed from Pluripotential

Primary Function = Transport oxygen from the

• Lack intracellular organelles necessary for

• A man excretes about 0.6 milligram of iron

• Lack of folic acid and vitB12: give rise to large

• 47% +/- 5% in males

Mobile units of body’s defense system, “Seek and

Each WBC has a specific function

Phagocytes that engulf bacteria

1-4% of the WBC's

Attack parasitic worms

Important in allergic reactions

Release histamine, serotonin,

• 25-33 % of the WBC's

• Leukocytosis (amounts greater than 11,000

2. Destruction of swallowed organisms by the acid

- Much of immunity is acquired immunity that does not

-Two basic but closely allied types of acquired immunity

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