Blood

Identify the components of the cardiovascular system

The components of the cardiovascular system are the heart, blood vessels, and blood.

List three types of blood vessels,and identify their functions.

Arteries carry blood away from the heart to the capillaries.

Capillaries allow diffusion between blood and the interstitial fluids.

Veins carry blood from the capillaries to the heart.

What are the functions of blood?

Blood functions to transport dissolved gases, nutrients, hormones, and metabolic wastes.

Regulate pH and ion composition of interstitial fluids.

Restrict fluid loss at injury sites.

Defend against toxins and pathogens

Stabilize body temperature.

Identify the two components making up whole blood, and list the composition of each.

Whole blood is composed of

Plasma- albumins, globulins, fibrinogen, electrolytes, organic nutrients, and organic wastes.

Formed elements- platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells.

Define hematocrit.

The hematocrit, also called the packed cell volume, is the percentage of formed elements in a sample of whole blood.

Which specific plasma proteins would you expect to be elevated during an infection?

During an infection, you would expect the level of immunoglobulins (antibodies) in the blood to be elevated.

Define hematopoietic stem cell?

A hematopoietic stem cell (hemocytoblast) is a multipotent stem cell whose divisions produce lymphoid and myeloid stem cells, which divide to form each of the various populations of blood cells.

Describe platelets and their origin.

Platelets develop from megakaryocytes these large cells send their cytoplasm in small, membrane-enclosed packets. These packets are the platelets that enter the blood stream.

Compare the types of cells that lymphoid stem cells and myeloid stem cells produce.

Lymphoid cells originate in the red bone marrow and give rise to lymphocytes; these stem cells also produce lymphocytes in the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes.

Myeloid stem cells are cells in red bone marrow that give rise to all the formed elements except lymphocytes.

What is hematology?

Hematology is the medical study of blood, blood-producing organs, and blood disorders.

Describe a complete blood count (CBC)

A complete blood count (CBC) is a diagnostic blood test used to determine underlying medical conditions. A CBC includes the RBC count, WBC count, erythrocyte indices (such as hemoglobin content), hematocrit, platelet count, and WBC differential count.

Which condition would a patient have if she had a depressed hematocrit level?

A patient with a depressed hematocrit level would have anemia.

Define rouleaux.

Rouleaux are stacks of red blood cells.

Describe hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin is a protein- composed of four subunits, each bound to a heme molecule- that gives RBC's the ability to transport oxygen in the blood.

Compare oxyhemoglobin with deoxyhemoglobin.

Oxyhemglobin is hemoglobin whose iron has bound oxygen; it is bright red.

Deoxyhemoglobin is hemoglobin whose iron has not bound oxygen; it is dark red.

Define hemolysis.

Hemolysis is the rupture of red blood cells; it results in the release of hemoglobin.

Identify the products formed during the breakdown of heme.

After the removal of iron within macrophages, heme is converted into biliverdin, which is then converted to bilirubin. In the large intestine, bilirubin is converted to either stercobilins, which are eliminated in the feces, or urobilins, which are eliminated in the feces or in urine.

In what way would a liver disease affect the level of bilirubin in the blood?

Bilirubin would accumulate in the blood and produce jaundice. This condition occurs because diseases that damage the liver impair its ability to excrete bilirubin in the bile.

What is determined by the surface antigens on RBCs?

Surface antigens on RBC's are glycolipids in the plasma membrane; they determine blood type.

Which blood types can be safely transfused into a person with type O- blood?

Only type O- blood can be safely transfused into a person whose blood type is O-.

Why can't a person with type A blood safely receive blood from a person with type B blood?

A person with type A blood also has anti- B antibodies, so if they received a transfusion of type B blood, the transfused red blood cells would clump, or agglutinate, potentially blocking blood flow to various organs and tissues.

Define hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN).

Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) is a condition in which maternal antibodies attack and destroy fetal red blood cells, resulting in fetal anemia; it occurs in a sensitized Rh- mother who is carrying an Rh+ fetus.

Why is RhoGAM administered to pregnant Rh- women?

When RhoGAM (which contains anti-Rh antibodies) is injected into a pregnant Rh- woman, the anti-Rh antibodies circulate in the mother's bloodstream, where they destroy any fetal RBCs there. This prevents the mother's immune system from making antibodies against the developing fetus's red blood cells.

Does an Rh+ mother carrying an Rh- fetus require a RhoGAM injection? Explain your answer.

An Rh+ mother carrying an Rh- fetus does not require a RhoGAM injection because the fetus is not at risk of Rh incompatibility. The fetus is not at risk because its RBCs lack Rh surface antigens, and the mother's plasma lacks anti-Rh antibodies.

Identify the five types of white blood cells.

The five types of white blood cells are neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, basophils, and lymphocytes.

Which type of white blood cells would you find in the greatest numbers in an infected cut?

An infected cut would contain a large number of neutrophils, phagocytic white blood cells that are generally the first to arrive at the site of an injury.

How do basophils respond during inflammation?

Basophils enter damaged tissues and release a variety of chemicals, including histamine, which promotes inflammation.

Define hemostasis.

Hemostasis is the stoppage of blood flow. It involves three phases: the vascular phase, the platelet phase, and coagulation phase.

Briefly describe the vascular, platelet, and coagulation phases of hemostasis.

During the vascular phase, local blood vessel constriction (vascular spasm) occurs at the injury site. IN the platelet phase, factors released by platelets and endothelial cells interact with clotting factors (through either the extrinsic pathway, or the common pathway) to form a blood clot, a process involving the conversion of soluble fibrinogen to insoluble fibers of fibrin.

List the following events in the process of hemostasis and clot dissolution in the proper order of their occurrence: Coagulation, fibrinolysis, vascular spasm, retraction, platelet phase.

The correct sequence for the events in hemostasis and clot dissolution is:

1. Vascular spasm

2. Platelet phase

3. coagulation

4. retraction

5 fibrinolysis

Define venipuncture.

Venipuncture is the piercing of a vein to obtain a blood sample.

Compare pernicious anemia with iron deficiency anemia.

Pernicious anemia is insufficient red blood cell production that results from a lack of vitamin B12; the blood cells that do develop tend to be macrocytic (excessively large) and abnormally shaped.

Iron deficiency anemia results when the dietary intake or absorption of iron is insufficient, impairing normal hemoglobin synthesis; these blood cells are microcytic (abnormally small).

Identify two types of leukemia.

The two types of leukemia are myeloid leukemia and lymphoid leukemia.