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Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein that gives red blood cells their color and facilitates transportation of oxygen from the lungs to tissues and carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs to be exhaled. [3] Red blood cells are the most abundant cell in the blood, accounting for about 40–45% of its volume. Red blood cells are circular ...
Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (from Ancient Greek erythros ' red ' and kytos ' hollow vessel ', with -cyte translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, [1] erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate's principal means of delivering oxygen (O 2) to the body tissues ...
The formed elements are the two types of blood cell or corpuscle – the red blood cells, (erythrocytes) and white blood cells (leukocytes), and the cell fragments called platelets [12] that are involved in clotting. By volume, the red blood cells constitute about 45% of whole blood, the plasma about 54.3%, and white cells about 0.7%.
Children with sickle-cell disease begin producing a defective form of hemoglobin called hemoglobin S instead, which form chains that cause red blood cells to change their shape from round to sickle-shaped. [35] These defective red blood cells have a much shorter life span than normal red blood cells (10–20 days compared to up to 120 days). [36]
An excess of white blood cells is usually due to infection or inflammation. Less commonly, a high white blood cell count could indicate certain blood cancers or bone marrow disorders. The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease, and thus the white blood cell count is an important subset of the complete blood count.
Pancytopenia – when all three types of blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, are all deficient. This is a life-threatening disorder that is a characteristic of aplastic anemia. [3] There are also two general causes of cytopenia: autoimmune and refractory.
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a blood disorder that results in blood clots forming in small blood vessels throughout the body. [2] This results in a low platelet count, low red blood cells due to their breakdown, and often kidney, heart, and brain dysfunction. [1]
A feedback loop involving erythropoietin helps regulate the process of erythropoiesis so that, in non-disease states, the production of red blood cells is equal to the destruction of red blood cells and the red blood cell number is sufficient to sustain adequate tissue oxygen levels but not so high as to cause sludging, thrombosis, or stroke ...