Concept explainers
To discuss:
The conditions of excess and deficient RBC counts, and their forms, causes, and pathological consequences.
Introduction:
The body is endowed with mechanisms to detect changes in its internal environment, to antagonize the changes, and to ultimately maintain a fairly constant internal environment. These mechanisms together are as termed homeostasis – the maintenance of a constant internal environment.
The number of RBCs in the blood is maintained at a constant level by a balance between the supply of new RBCs by erythropoiesis and RBC death and degradation, which happens around their 120-day life. An imbalance of supply and degradation leads to either an excess or a shortage of RBCs. A deficiency in the number of RBCs in the blood is termed as anemia, whereas an excess is known as polycythemia.
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Anatomy and Physiology
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