The Blood

Introduction

• Specialized connective tissue

– plasma - fluid part
– formed blood cells
• erythrocytes
• leukocytes
• thrombocytes

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 Functions of Blood
• Transports - O2, CO2, nutrients,
waste, hormones
• Regulates - body pH, body temperature
• Clotting mechanism
• Protection against foreign microbes
and toxins
• Osmosis

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 The Classification of Blood
Cells and the Composition of
Plasma
PCV

Figure 9-1 Haematocrit and types of blood cells 7

 Blood Cells
• Erythrocytes (RBCs)
• Leukocytes (WBCs)
– granular - neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils
– agranular - monocytes, lymphocytes
• Thrombocytes - platelets

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 Plasma
• Fluid portion of blood is 91% water
• Plasma proteins - 7%
– albumin, globulin, fibrinogen
• Plasma solutes - 2%
– ions, nutrients, waste products, gases,
enzymes, hormones

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10
 Formation of Blood Cells:
Hematopoiesis
• Produced in red bone marrow
• Lymphocytes and monocytes produced by
– lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils
• Stem cells - undifferentiated mesenchymal
cells

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Figure 9-9 Blood cell production (haemopoiesis). All the blood cell types ultimately originate
from the same undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells in the red bone marrow.
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Blood Cell Anatomy and
Functions
 Erythrocytes
• Biconcave disks
• No nucleus
• Contain hemoglobin
– heme - binds O2
– globin - binds CO2

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 Presence ofHaemoglobin
(cont’d)
• Molecule consists of two parts:
– Globin portion
• Protein composed of four highly folded polypeptide
chains Alpha & Beta polypeptide chains
– Heme groups
• Four iron-containing nonprotein groups
• Each is bound to one of the polypeptides
Figure 9-2 Haemoglobin molecule. A haemoglobin molecule consists of four highly
folded polypeptide chains (the globin portion) and four iron-containing heme groups.
Figure 9-6, p. 389
Figure 9-5 Haematocrit under various circumstances
 Presence ofHaemoglobin
• Found only in red blood cells
• Pigment containing iron
– Appears reddish when oxygenated
– Appears bluish when deoxygenated
Figure 9-8 Peripheral blood smear
 Leukocytes
• Granular
– neutrophils picture "B"
• phagocytize foreign substances
– eosinophils picture "E"
• produce antihistamines , kills parasites
– basophils picture "F"
• produce heparin, histamine, serotonin

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 Leukocytes
• Agranular
– monocytes picture "D"
• phagocytize bacteria and cellular debris
• macrophages - in tissues
– lymphocytes picture "B above" & picture "C"
• T lymphocytes
• B lymphocytes

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 Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes
• Defends against invading pathogens
• Identifies and destroys cancer cells that
arise in body e.g. T-Cytotoxic "Lymphocytes"
• Functions as a “cleanup crew” that
removes worn-out cells and tissue debris
 Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
• Neutrophils
– Phagocytic specialists
– Release web of extracellular fibres called
neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that
contain bacteria-killing chemicals
– Can also destroy bacteria by phagocytosis
– Functions:
• First defenders on scene of bacterial invasion
• Very important in inflammatory responses
• Scavenge to clean up debris
 Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
• Eosinophils
– Increase in circulating eosinophils
(eosinophilia) is associated with
• Allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever
• Internal parasite infestations, such as worms
– Attach to worm and secrete substances to kill it

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 Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
• Basophils
– Least numerous and most poorly understood
of the leukocytes
– Quite similar structurally and functionally to
mast cells
– Synthesize and store
(1)• Histamine: release is important in allergic reactions
Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
– Synthesize and store (cont’d)
(2)• Heparin: speeds up removal of fat particles
from blood after fatty meal
– Can also prevent clotting of blood samples drawn for
chemical analysis
– Used extensively as anticoagulant drug
 Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
• Monocytes
– Emerge from bone marrow while still
immature and circulate for day or two before
settling down in various tissues in body
– Mature and enlarge in resident tissue and
become known as macrophages
• Life span can range from several months to years
Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
• Lymphocytes
– Provide immune defence against targets for
which they are specifically programmed
– Two types of lymphocytes:
• B Lymphocytes: humoural immunity
– Produce antibodies
– Responsible to antibody-mediated immunity
Functions and Life Spans of
Leukocytes (cont’d)
– Two types of lymphocytes (cont’d):
• T Lymphocytes: cell-mediated immunity
– Do not produce antibodies

– Directly destroy specific target cells by releasing

chemicals that punch holes in the victim cell

– Target cells include body cells invaded by viruses and

cancer cells
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The Clotting Mechanism
 The Clotting Mechanism
Ruptured blood vessel attracts Thrombocytes
↓
Damaged tissue releases Thromboplastin
↓
Thromboplastin + Ca+, ions, and proteins→

Prothrombin activator + Ca+ → Prothrombin→

Thrombin → Fibrinogen → Fibrin

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 The Clotting Mechanism
N.B. must be: Intravascular
• Thrombosis - unwanted clotting “Stationary”
• Embolus - circulating blood clot
• Infarction
– tissues killed as a result of loss of blood supply
"local ischemia"

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 Thrombus and embolus both are the blood clots but
thrombus is stationary while embolus is floating

Figure 7-28, p. 325

 The Clotting Mechanism

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The Blood Groups
“Blood Typing”
 Blood Types
Blood typing is a system of classifying blood based on the antigens present on or missing from
the surface of RBCs. This approach to grouping bloods can prevent the severe complications
that can occur from interactions between incompatible blood types.

RBCs contain proteins, or antigens, on their surface that allow specialists to determine blood
types. The absence or presence of A or B antigens and Rh factor can help classify blood types.
People with no A or B antigens on the surface of their RBCs have blood type O. Combining
these systems creates the eight most common blood types:

• A-positive (A+)
• A-negative (A-)
• B-positive (B+)
• B-negative (B-)
• O-positive (O+)
• O-negative (O-)
• AB-positive (AB+)
• AB-negative (AB-)

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 Blood Types
• Determining blood types is essential for compatibility. If the immune system
detects the antigens in incompatible blood, it will recognize those RBCs as
foreign and destroy them, which could result in life threatening
complications.
• Blood types depend on surface antigens on
erythrocytes (RBCs):
– Type A blood contains A antigens
– Type B blood contains B antigens
– Type AB blood has both A and B antigens
– Type O blood has neither A nor B antigens
 Blood Types (cont’d)
• An antibody binds with the specific antigen
against which it is produced
• Antibodies against foreign RBC antigens
appear in human plasma after 6 months
of age
– Type A blood contains anti-B antibodies
– Type B blood contains anti-A antibodies
– Type AB blood contains neither antibodies
– Type O blood contains both anti-A and anti-B
antibodies
Figure 9-4 Transfusion reaction. A transfusion reaction resulting from type B blood being
transfused into a recipient with type A blood.

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Figure 9-4, p. 388
Figure 9-4, p. 388
Universal Blood Donors and
Recipients

• Universal Donor: type O

– No A or B antigens

• Universal Recipient: type AB

– No anti-A or anti-B antibodies
 Rh Group (D-Antigen)
“Rhesus Monkey Factor”
 The Rh Factor
(Rhesus or D-Antigen)
• The rhesus factor, or Rh factor, is a protein that may be
present on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). If RBCs
contain the Rh antigen, they are Rh-positive, and if not,
they are Rh-negative. It is important to know a person’s Rh
factor to ensure that they receive compatible blood.

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 The Rh Factor
(Rhesus or D-Antigen)
The Rh factor is an inherited protein that can be present on the
surface of RBCs. There are five main Rh antigens on RBCs, of
which the most important is the Rh D antigen. The Rh D antigen
is the most immunogenic, meaning that it may provoke an
immune response.
People inherit their Rh status from their parents, separate from
their ABO blood type. Roughly 85% of people in the United
States are Rh-positive.

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 The Rh Factor
(Rhesus or D-Antigen)
When a person who is Rh-negative is pregnant with an Rh-
positive fetus, their body will recognize the Rh-positive blood as
foreign and produce anti-D antibodies. These antibodies can
cross the placenta and attack the fetus’s blood cells. Some
people may refer to this as Rh disease.

Health problems do not usually occur during an Rh-negative

person’s first pregnancy with an Rh-positive fetus, as the body is
unlikely to produce enough anti-D antibodies. However, without
treatment, later pregnancies may be at risk.

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 The Rh Factor
(Rhesus or D-Antigen)
An attack by the anti-D antibodies on the fetal blood cells can
result in Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn or HDN; (e.g.
Erythroblastosis fetalis)

Erythroblastosis fetalis is a condition where the mother's

blood cells attack the baby's blood cells as they are foreign
invaders.

It can be caused by Rh incompatibility or ABO

incompatibility, and it can be life-threatening for the baby.