In the human body, in which everything is in order with health, the formed elements of the blood comprise from 40 to 48% of the total blood volume. If the amount of these particles does not correspond to the norm, this indicates the possible presence of pathological processes in the body. And what are the most famous blood cells? Of course, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
The composition of human blood
Blood can be called connective tissue in a liquid state. It always circulates from the heart to all the remote corners of the body and performs vital functions. This biofluid is responsible for the transfer of nutrients, gases and trace elements, without which metabolism is impossible. It creates the conditions for the normal course of the totality of processes that support life in the human body.
Plasma and blood cells are constituents of the blood. Plasma for the most part consists of water in which the components necessary for the course of vital processes are dissolved.
Blood has a viscosity, which affects the pressure inside the vessels and its circulation. The volume of blood in the body depends on the age and structure of the body of people. Basically, it is from four to five liters.
There are four blood groups having a specific composition. They are determined using a special analysis taken from a newborn baby, according to the protein content in the blood. The group does not change throughout life. It can undergo changes only as a result of transfusion of new blood to a person in the presence of injuries or during surgical interventions.
Blood cell function
These cells are designed to perform the most important functions in the human body. Shaped elements form the basis of these cells.
- The transport function is responsible for the transfer of the necessary substances to all areas of the body. The circulatory system is able to provide all vessels and organs with substances necessary for normal functioning.
- The respiratory function allows oxygen to be delivered from the lungs to all organs and tissues, and carbon dioxide can be returned to the lungs.
- An excretory function is needed to block negative formations and remove them from the body through systems and organs designed for this.
- Nutritional function is necessary to provide cells and organs with the necessary substances, to activate the immune system.
- Regulatory function helps maintain a balance between beneficial and harmful substances. The necessary substances with the help of blood enter all zones of the body, and harmful substances are removed from it.
- Trophic function is needed to nourish organs with nutrients that enter the body through the intestinal wall.
- The protective function is represented by three varieties. The phagocytic function ensures the absorption of infections and viruses by healthy cells. Homeostatic promotes blood coagulation in case of damage to the integrity of the skin, supports the flow of certain processes in the blood. The third function is thermoregulatory. Blood is involved in the thermoregulation of the body, protecting it from overheating and hypothermia.
- Functions for the performance of which blood cells are mainly responsible are transport, homeostatic and protective.
Education and study of these elements of blood
The formed elements of human blood are formed in the blood-forming organs. They are assigned different roles in the body. If a person does not get sick, immediately after maturation they enter the plasma, are distributed throughout the body and immediately begin to fulfill their purpose. If a person has a serious illness, these elements can come out of the bone marrow without finally ripening.
Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets belong to the formed elements of the blood.
Nowadays, in order to determine whether their number corresponds to the norm, a specialist prescribes an analysis, after which you can find out what elements are in insufficient quantities in the plasma.
If in earlier times laboratory assistants themselves studied the material in detail, then today the analysis is carried out using special devices. This allows you to soon get an accurate result.
The composition of blood cells
Red blood cells - red blood cells - make up a significant mass of the total number of shaped elements. Hemoglobin, saturated with iron, is part of red blood cells and is responsible for the delivery of oxygen in the body. Thanks to hemoglobin, the blood has a red color, it can easily come into contact with oxygen. The oxidation processes depend on the amount of hemoglobin.
White blood cells that perform a protective function also belong to blood cells. In size, they are larger than red blood cells. Microorganisms that enter the blood are captured and digested by these elements.
Blood platelets (platelets) are responsible for blood coagulation.
The purpose of red blood cells
These shaped elements of blood (erythrocytes) resemble in their shape curved disks of a certain diameter. Due to their elasticity, they can easily move through the capillaries, which are the smallest vessels in the body.
Such a huge amount of red blood cells is contained in human blood that if you build a chain where these elements will follow each other, you will be able to wrap the earth several times around the equator. These shaped elements are measured by the number of cells per liter.
The normal number of red blood cells in men and women, newborns and the elderly varies within certain limits.
Red cells are 95% hemoglobin, endowed with the ability to easily attach oxygen atoms and detach them. Blood enriched with oxygen flows through the arteries and has a brighter color.
It becomes much darker when it gives off oxygen and captures the decay products. Then, through the veins, she rushes to the heart, undergoing purification along the way. Examining the composition of red blood cells, it is imperative to establish how much hemoglobin they contain.
The main purpose that these formed elements of blood perform is the delivery of oxygen and vital substances to all cells, the cleansing of the latter from decay products and their delivery to the organs of the excretory system.
Erythrocyte life span
Red blood cells can live for about four months. After this period, they undergo decomposition, and as a result of complex reactions, a toxic substance is formed called bilirubin. It is neutralized in the liver, is a component of bile, is sent to the rectum, and there it takes part in the digestive processes. Then the main amount of bilirubin leaves the body along with feces, and the rest goes out with urine, undergoing filtration in the kidneys.
Red blood cells can break down according to two specific patterns. They can be consumed by certain cells called phagocytes, which are designed to remove all unnecessary from the body. A large number of phagocytes is located in the liver and spleen, so these organs are sometimes called the burial places of these blood elements. The second scheme involves the dissolution of red blood cells in the process of destruction of their membrane directly in the blood. In addition, there is a process of natural selection, when even new, but characterized by weakness or inferior erythrocytes are destroyed during the flow of blood through the vessels.
It should be noted that certain diseases are able to reduce the life span of red blood cells. In connection with their flow in the blood, red blood cell precursors appear in the process of hematopoiesis - reticulocytes. They may not be fully ripe. A large number of reticulocytes indicates the presence of pathologies in the body.
The quantitative volume of red blood cells may vary slightly. In most cases, various physiological factors and environmental influences can affect this. The normal volume of red cells can also change under the influence of various diseases.
White blood cell count
Other formed elements of the blood - leukocytes - detect pathogens that have entered the body, die or undergo changes in cells, absorb them and dissolve. White blood cells are an important part of the immune system.
There are five types of white cells. Most of them are formed in the bone marrow, and a small part - in the lymph nodes and in certain organs. It is realistic to count the plasma leukocyte count. Thanks to a special laboratory, you can derive a white blood cell formula that shows the proportions of the types of white blood cells and their relationship with the norms.
The amount of these elements during the day can often change under the influence of certain factors: after eating, exercising, relaxing in the bath, drinking hot drink. After taking the medicine, the leukocyte count can increase dramatically, so if the patient is taking any medications, it is necessary to tell the specialist about this and do not drink the medicine for a certain time before the test.
Analysis is recommended to be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. It is also advised to give up exercise and smoking, not to take a bath or shower, to protect yourself from stressful situations and other causes that activate the immune system.
Types of white blood cells
White cells have differences in their purpose, structure and composition. All types of leukocytes are endowed with the ability to seep through the walls of the capillaries into tissues that have damage and take pathogens.
The following types of leukocytes, responsible for the performance of certain functions, belong to the formed blood elements:
- neutrophils and monocytes - able to detect pathogens and dead tissue and destroy them;
- eosinophils - fight against toxins, basophils - against allergens;
- the purpose of lymphocytes is the synthesis of antibodies responsible for the memory of the immune system.
Leukocyte life
The life span of these shaped elements depends on certain factors and can last from several hours to several years. Many white blood cells die in the course of an unequal struggle with a large number of pathogens, because by absorbing the latter, they can burst.
In the places of death of these shaped elements (white blood cells), pus is formed, causing new immune cells to fight.
If the results of the analyzes reveal a significant difference between the number of leukocytes and the norm, this may indicate the development of pathologies that inspire serious concern. To have an idea of โโthe disease, you need to undergo a specialist examination.
Platelet differences
The smallest blood cells are platelets. They look like the smallest plates and are responsible for blood coagulation. Ripening in the bone marrow, platelets penetrate the plasma. The life span of the blood platelets lasts approximately eight days, and then they are destroyed in the spleen.
The formed elements of the blood (platelets) are endowed with mobility and instant reaction to changes in the integrity of the skin and tissues within the body. Instantly they appear at the site of the violation, stick together between themselves and the damaged area of โโthe tissue, activating certain components. Due to this, the wound is healed, heals and resolves. These blood cells are lifeguards in the human body that protect it from bleeding.
Platelet count is measured in thousands per 1 microliter of blood. For men, 200-400 thousand U / ฮผl is considered the norm, and for women - 180-320 thousand U / ฮผl. Their inadequate content can lead to delayed wound healing and internal bleeding, causing serious illness. A decrease in platelet count in the blood can occur as a result of exposure to some reasons: a lack of certain vitamins, long-term diets, allergies to medications, certain diseases, and others.
An increase in the number of blood platelets causes the formation of pathological blood clots in the body. Thrombi are formed due to the collision of platelets between themselves and the walls of blood vessels. They are able to block the flow of blood, which in some cases causes death if blood clots are located in the area of โโthe heart or brain. If a blood clot blocks a vessel in another part of the body, without nutrition, the tissue begins to die, which can cause gangrene or sepsis.
Thus, blood cells are cells that are responsible for their strictly distributed unique functions.