Blood and its Components

Vocabulary flashcards covering the composition, functions, and common pathologies of blood components based on Chapter 13.

Plasma

The liquid fraction of whole blood (the extracellular part) excluding formed elements, making up approximately $2.6\,L$ of normal blood volume.

Acidosis

A condition created when blood pH decreases toward neutral ($7.0$) from its normal alkaline range of $7.35\text{ to }7.45$.

Serum

The liquid remaining after whole blood clots; it is plasma minus clotting factors and contains antibodies.

Erythrocytes

Also called red blood cells (RBCs), these biconcave disks lack a nucleus and organelles to provide space for hemoglobin and have a life span of about $120\text{ days}$.

Leukocytes

Also called white blood cells (WBCs), these are categorized into granular and agranular types and are involved in immune defense.

Thrombocytes

Also called platelets, these cell fragments play an essential role in the blood-clotting mechanism by forming a \"platelet plug.\"

Hematocrit

Also called packed cell volume (PCV), this is a test that measures the percentage of whole blood that is made up of RBCs.

Oxyhemoglobin

The compound formed within red blood cells when hemoglobin ($Hb$) combines with oxygen ($O_2$).

Carbaminohemoglobin

The compound formed within red blood cells when hemoglobin ($Hb$) combines with carbon dioxide ($CO_2$).

Normocytes

Red blood cells that are of normal size, typically about $8\text{ to }9\,\mu m$ in diameter.

Universal recipient

Type AB blood, which contains both Type A and Type B antigens in RBCs and no anti-A or anti-B antibodies in the plasma.

Universal donor

Type O blood, which contains no Type A or Type B antigens in RBCs and both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the plasma.

Erythroblastosis fetalis

A condition that may occur when an Rh-negative mother carries a second Rh-positive fetus, caused by maternal Rh antibodies reacting with fetal Rh-positive cells.

Polycythemia

A condition involving the overproduction of RBCs, generally caused by cancerous transformation of red bone marrow, where RBC counts may exceed $10\text{ million}/mm^3$.

Aplastic anemia

A type of anemia characterized by low RBC numbers and destruction of bone marrow, often caused by toxic chemicals, irradiation, or certain drugs.

Pernicious anemia

A deficiency anemia caused by an inadequate supply of vitamin $B_{12}$, often resulting from a genetic-related autoimmune disease.

Sickle cell anemia

A genetic disease resulting in the formation of abnormal hemoglobin ($HbS$) that causes RBCs to assume a sickled shape when oxygen levels decrease.

Thalassemia

A group of inherited hemolytic anemias occurring primarily in people of Mediterranean descent, characterized by microcytic and short-lived RBCs.

Leukopenia

An abnormally low WBC count, defined as being below $5000/mm^3$ of blood.

Leukocytosis

An abnormally high WBC count, defined as being over $10,000/mm^3$ of blood; it is a frequent finding in bacterial infections.

Neutrophils

The most numerous type of phagocyte among the granular leukocytes, whose numbers increase during bacterial infections.

Basophils

Granular leukocytes related to mast cells that secrete histamine (related to inflammation) and heparin (an anticoagulant).

B lymphocyte

A type of agranular leukocyte involved in immunity by producing antibodies; its mature form is known as a plasma cell.

Monocytes

The largest leukocytes and aggressive phagocytes that develop into macrophages after leaving the blood to enter tissue spaces.

Multiple myeloma

A cancer of the B lymphocytes (plasma cells), identified as the most deadly blood cancer in people older than age $65$.

Thrombus

A blood clot that remains stationary in the blood vessel where it was formed.

Embolus

A circulating blood clot that moves through the bloodstream.

Hemophilia

An X-linked inherited disorder resulting from the inability to produce factor VIII, a plasma protein responsible for blood clotting.

Thrombocytopenia

A clotting disorder caused by reduced platelet counts and characterized by small purplish spots on the skin called purpura.

Fibrin

Insoluble protein threads formed when thrombin reacts with fibrinogen, creating a tangle that traps RBCs to produce a blood clot.