Blood Components
The circulatory system is made up of the heart, blood and blood vessels. What exactly is blood and what does it do? Blood is the fluid that flows in the circulatory system and carries substances around the body.
What makes up our blood?
•RED BLOOD CELLS (Erythrocytes) – The most abundant cells in our blood; they are produced in the bone marrow and contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen to our cells.
•WHITE BLOOD CELLS (Leukocytes) – They are part of the immune system and destroy infectious agents called pathogens.
•PLASMA – This is the yellowish liquid portion of blood that contains electrolytes, nutrients and vitamins, hormones, clotting factors, and proteins such as antibodies to fight infection.
•PLATELETS (Thrombocytes) – The clotting factors that are carried in the plasma; they clot together in a process called coagulation to seal a wound and prevent a loss of blood.
What makes up our blood?
•RED BLOOD CELLS (Erythrocytes) – The most abundant cells in our blood; they are produced in the bone marrow and contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen to our cells.
•WHITE BLOOD CELLS (Leukocytes) – They are part of the immune system and destroy infectious agents called pathogens.
•PLASMA – This is the yellowish liquid portion of blood that contains electrolytes, nutrients and vitamins, hormones, clotting factors, and proteins such as antibodies to fight infection.
•PLATELETS (Thrombocytes) – The clotting factors that are carried in the plasma; they clot together in a process called coagulation to seal a wound and prevent a loss of blood.
Blood Types
Blood typing is a method to tell what specific type of blood you have. What type you have depends on whether or not there are certain proteins, called antigens, on the surface of your red blood cells and other proteins in your blood, called antibodies. Blood is
often grouped according to the ABO blood typing system. This method breaks
blood types down into four types:
- Type A
- Type B
- Type AB
- Type O