The Components of Blood and Their Importance

Blood is a specialized fluid connective tissue that contains cells suspended in a fluid matrix.

Blood is always crossing through thousand of miles of arteries, veins and

capillaries
There are blood vassels which carry blood to every other organ keep them
functioning and driving

Our red blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients

Our platelets stop bleeding and help heel our tissues
Our white cells protects us against infections
And the yellow liquid plasma in which they are suspended carries an array of
proteins that regulate bleeding and clotting

The Role of protein in Blood Clotting

When blood vassels are injured proteins call clotting factors help the platelets
stick together to form clots at the site of the injury and stop the bleeding.
Withhout clotting factors normal blood clotting cant take place, the result,
profuse bleeding

Aplastic Anemia
Aplastic anemia occurs when the bodys immune system becomes confused
and begins to attack cells that perform clinical functions.
The cells affected in this condition are the red blood cells, white blood cells,
and platelets.
Red blood cells are needed because they carry oxygen to the tissues of the
body.
Platelets are important because they help to promote blood clotting
Lymphocytes are white blood cells that act as the first line of defense against
germens and viruses
Neutrophils are another type that works to prevent infections and disease

The low counts of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets indicate
aplastic anemia
This important collections of cells originated inside human bones
They start life as stem cells that mature within the bones before passing out
into the blood
When suffering immune disorders such as aplastic anemia lymphocytes
become confused and attack the stem cells being created in the bone marrow
Promising treatment for this condition requires high doses cyclophosphamide
an agent that eradicates the immune system causing to reboot like a
computer, once rebooted the lymphocytes no more attack the stem cells

WHAT IS SICKLE CELL ANEMIA

In people with sickle cell disease the red blood cells become deformed
The bone marrow tries to make more red cells to make up for the lost but cant
keep up, causing anemia
Their new shape keeps them from moving properly through the body and the
new sheet of cells can jam up and stick to the to the walls of the blood vassels
this clots cut off oxygen to healthy tissue delaying the childs normal growth
and causing fatigue and extreme pain

HEREDITARY SPHEROCYTOSIS
Hereditary spherocytosis like sickle cell disease a genetic mistake causes the
red cells to become deformed as they travel for the blood system.
In this case they become spheroid-shape.
When this cells pass through the spleen they are mistaken as damage and get
destroyed causing anemia

HOW WHITE CELLS ARE MADE

Our body is constantly making new blood cells, billion of white blood cells,
platelets are produced everyday to replace all the cells that die
This process by which blood cells are created is called hematopoiesis

Blood cells in the body including the white cells are made in the bone marrow
which is the soft material in the center of the bones .
Blood cells are created from the group of master cells called stem cells which
also live in the bone marrow.
This stem cells have tha ability to divide and produced all the different type of
blood cells
The white blood cells are an important part of our bodys immune system
Granulocytes are an special group of white cells that play an extreme and
important role in protecting the body against infections
Neutrophils are an special class of granulocytes that are able to chase, engulf
and digest the bacteria that can cause infections
Neutrophile development in the bone marrow take approximately 10 days
Matured neutrophils are released in the blood where they survive only 3 to 6
hours
Because matured neutrophils are very short-lived the bone marrow constantly
produces large number of neutrophils to meet the bodys needs our body make
natural proteins that can signal the stem cells to start making cells that will
eventually develop as neutrophils.
One of the important proteins in this process is called Granulocyte-Colony
Stimulating factor or G-CFS.
The G-CFS protein can work on the cells in the bone marrow that eventually
becme neutrophils and signal that they should start becoming neutrophils .
This process can take about 10 days
The mature neutrophils can finally be released in the blood where they can
fight bacteria and protect against infection.