Lab 1 (Current Draft)

functions of blood

• transportation of gases, nutrients, vitamins, hormones, etc

• regulation of tissue pH, temperature, etc. throughout the body

• immune protection

what type of tissue is blood?

connective tissue

homogenous components of blood

• blood plasma (this is the liquid containing water, proteins, and solutes)

• formed elements (erythrocytes and buffy coat)

buffy coat

the thin white layer in centrifuged blood samples containing leukocytes (WBCs) and platelets

Leukocytes most common to least common

Neutrophil, Lymphocyte, Monocyte, Eosinophil, and Basophil (Never let monkeys eat bananas)

Granular leukocytes

contains conspicuous cytoplasmic granules that appear upon staining;

types include:

• neutrophil

• eosinophil

• basophil

Agranular leukocytes

has cytoplasmic granules but they do not appear with staining (they’re inconspicuous!)

types include:

• monocyte

• lymphocyte

neutrophils

• 55-65% of all WBCs

• polymorphonuclear

Function:

• destroy bacteria by phagocytosis

• chemically attracted to sites of inflammation

lymphocyte

• 25-35% of all WBCs

• large nucleus that occupies most of the cell’s volume; variable in size

Function:

• B-cells: give rise to antibody-producing cells

• T-cells: directly attack virus-infected cells, transplanted cells, cancer cells, and some bacteria

• Increases in number following infection and immune response

monocyte

• 3-7% of all WBCs

• kidney-shaped nucleus; largest of the WBCs

Function:

• once they leave the capillaries these cells transform into wandering macrophages

• macrophages phagocytize pathogens and dead tissue

Eosinophil

• 1-3% of WBCs

• Nucleus 2-3 lobes connected by thin strand; granules appear red-orange with acidic dye

Function:

• targets certain parasitic worms

  • gather around worm, and releases digestive chemicals from granules

• also has complex role in allergic responses and asthma

Basophil

• <1% of WBC (rare)

• large dark purple, irregularly sized granules; nucleus is irregularly shaped bi-lobed, however obscured from view by granules when stained

Function:

• involved in inflammatory and allergic reactions - release histamine

• counts increase w/ allergic rxns, leukemia, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders

Leukemia

type of blood cancer; high levels of abnormal leukocytes (WBCs)

platelets

• anucleate cell fragments

• small: 2-4 microns

• aids in stopping blood loss by:

  • forming platelet plug

  • releasing chemicals that promote blood clotting

  • releasing chemicals that promote vascular spasm

    • contraction of smooth muscle in artery/arteriole walls

• formed by splintering of megakaryocytes in red bone marrow.

what are labels (top to bottom)

 blood plasma, buffy coat (platelets and WBCs), RBCs

erythrocytes (RBCs)

• most common formed element

• anucleate and missing most other organelles

• 7-8 microns, disc shaped

• contains the protein hemoglobin

  • carries O2 and CO2

  • iron is essential

hemoglobin

• transports oxygen, found in erythrocytes (RBCs)

• metalloprotein — each heme site has an iron (Fe) ion

• undergoes a conformational change as O2 binds to the heme site of each subunit (4 total)

hematopoiesis

blood formation

hemocytoblasts form:

myeloid stem cell and lymphoid stem cells

lymphoid stem cells make:

lymphocytes (T-cells, B-cells →plasma cell, and natural killer cells)

myeloid stem cells make:

“everything else” (all of the rest of the formed elements that lymphoid cells don’t produce)

Hematocrit (aka Packed Cell Volume-PCV)

• a rough measure of oxygen carrying ability of the blood

• % of RBCs/total blood volume

• normal females = 42%; normal males = 47%

• to measure fill capillary tube w/ heparinized blood and centrifuge → formed elements separate from plasma → determine packed cell volume (PCV)

polycythemia

abnormally high hematocrit; higher than normal volume of RBCs (>55%)

hemoglobin concentration [Hb]

• more direct (“better” than PCV) assessment of oxygen carrying ability compared to hematocrit

• measured using spectroscopy

  • less light is able to transmit through a hemoglobin rich sample

anemia

reduced oxygen carrying ability of the blood

Causes include:

• aplastic anemia: caused by failure of red bone marrow to produce RBCs

• iron deficiency anemia: decrease in hemoglobin production due to inadequate iron

• sickle cell anemia: inherited condition in which hemoglobin is misshapen, resulting in reduced oxygen carrying capacity

Draw out ABO Blood System table

blood plasma contains antibodies that react with ___ ___ found on the RBCs of the individual

blood plasma contains antibodies that react with antigens NOT found on the RBCs of the individual

Universal donor + Universal recipient

O- ; AB+

Who has anti-Rh antibodies?

Rh- individuals but only after exposure to Rh+ blood

What are the component of blood

hormones

a regulatory substance that stimulates cell and tissues

cytokines

a secreted substance that causes an effect on other cells, used here to refer to signaling compounds for WBC production

erythropoietin (EPO)

a hormone released by kidney fibroblasts when oxygen levels are low in the kidney, causing erythroid progenitor cells to grow, not die (EPO inhibits apoptosis), and induce differentiation to make more RBCs

erythropoiesis

the process that describes the formation of red blood cells from stem cells

reticulocytes

the immature form of RBCs

blood type

determined by the presence or absence of specific antigens (glycoproteins)

agglutination

the process that occurs when a specific antigen mixes with its corresponding antibody

antibodies

plasma proteins that attack specific antigens and destroy the cells bearing those antigens or make cellular destruction easier