Blood: The Four Major Components

From the start of independence, the question of the process of career selection has stumbled teens across the globe. Whether the outcome be based on the amount of money, the location, or even the very few who find their true passion, no one has a definitive idea on what they will pursue. Richard Van Camp’s main character, Leo, is faced with the same dilemma. Van Camp's short story, “The Strongest Blood”, explores the use of symbolism, brought through by money, the conflicts in which influence career decision, and the use of pathos to evoke an emotional connection to the reality of the world.

“Erythrocytes contain haemoglobin, an important respiratory pigment that is essential for human life” (Strech, Beryl; Whitehouse, Mary;, 2010) Haemoglobin is very important because it is an iron-containing protein.

To name the two major components of blood and state their average percentages in whole blood.

 Once the oxygen-depleted cells are in the lungs, they travel into the alveoli where they lose their CO2 and trade it for oxygen. The oxygen is able to stay with the red blood cells because the cell have hemoglobin which is a protein which binds with oxygen.

The blood contains the oxygen, platelets, nutrients, red and white blood cells, hormones which are all important materials for metabolism.

Blood is a mixture of liquids and solids. Blood contains plasma, serum, red blood cells, white blood cells proteins and more. Blood does not stay in liquid form for a long time after being exposed from your body, due to clotting. It clots a few minutes forming a dark red, gel-like substance that becomes more solid time passes. Blood clots can tell an attack was prolonged or the victim was bleeding for a significant period after being injured.

Blood is made up of straw coloured plasma, the matrix, in which various types of blood are carried. Plasma is mainly water where substances are carried such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, nutrients such as glucose and amino acids, salts, enzymes and hormones. Also there is a combination of important proteins which help with blood clotting, transport,

Blood is a red fluid that contains a complex mixture of cells suspended in a liquid matrix which is transported (circulated) throughout the body by the circulatory system of an organism. It circulates around the body by the heart and delivers oxygen and other important nutrients to cells of organs and tissues, while at the same time, removing waste product from our body. Blood is located in almost every part of our body, which is due to the network of blood vessels called the circulatory system. It is circulated through the body’s heart, arteries, veins and capillaries (tiny vessels that connect arteries and veins). In order for blood to carry out its functions, it needs to circulate all over our body to all living cells and tissues which it does through the support of the heart that pumps blood throughout our entire body). Thus, it is the fluid of life, a vital life force that all humans need in order to live and sustain life.

The general charactertics of blood are color, composition, and pH. The composition of blood is determined by collecting blood from a person then it’s placed in a centrifuge which shows plasma is 55% of whole blood and 45 % is erythrocytes. Another name for red blood cells is erythrocytes which are small sacs of blood that carry oxygen and

As the concentration of hemoglobin in the Red Blood Cells falls below normal, the total Red Blood Cell count consequently decreases. Therefore, oxygen cannot be adequately carried. (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/pted/htm/iron.htm).

The second crucial function of hemoglobin according to Keohane et al. (2016) together with McPherson & Pincus (2017) is the transport of carbon dioxide (Figure 9). They stated that: “In venous blood, the carbon dioxide diffuses into the red blood cells and combines with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). This reaction is facilitated by the RBC enzyme carbonic anhydrase. Carbonic acid then dissociates to release H+ and bicarbonate (HCO3-).

Blood has many functions and is a complex structure of cells and fluid. It helps fight bacteria, protect the body from infection, carry valuable sources of minerals and nutrients around the body, dispose of waste materials, keeps the body temperature regulated and helps with glandular distribution of hormones and enzymes.

The other components of the blood such as the erythrocytes and leukocytes occupy the remaining 1% of the total blood volume in the entire circulatory system.

The membrane of the red blood cell plays many roles that aid in regulating their surface deformability, flexibility, adhesion to other cells and immune recognition. These functions are highly dependent on its composition, which defines its properties. The red blood cell membrane is composed of 3 layers: the glycocalyx on the exterior, which is rich in carbohydrates; the lipid bilayer which contains many transmembrane proteins, besides its lipidic main constituents; and the membrane skeleton, a structural network of proteins located on the inner surface of the lipid bilayer. In human erythrocytes, like in most mammal erythrocytes, half of the membrane mass is represented by proteins and the other half are lipids, namely phospholipids and cholesterol.[29]

Haemoglobin is a protein molecule found in red blood cells (RBC). Its role in the body is to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body 's tissues and then returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs. The transportation of oxygen is only possible when haemoglobin (Hb) within the RBC binds to oxygen. (Martini & Nath, 2006)