Tuesday, 27 April 2010

The Components Of Plasma and Their Function

Picture from www.goalfinder.com

2.1 Describe The Components Of Plasma and Explain Their Functions

In this post I am going to talk about what is in blood and say what plasma is and it's function.
Blood is made up of components 55% of it is plasma and 45% is blood cells. Of the cells 99% are erythrocytes, these are red blood cells and 1% are leucocytes which are white blood cells and thrombocytes, these are platelets (ivy-rose web).
The normal structure of plasma is 90 - 92% of water and the rest is a straw coloured fluid. The fluid is where the blood cells are suspended and they contain substances that dissolve, these include electrolytes, things like sodium, chlorine, potassium, maganese and calcium ions. Also in the fluid is blood plasma proteins, these are albumin, globulin and fibrinogen, hormones are also in the fluid.
There are several functions of plasma. One of the functions is to allow the blood cells to move around the body effectively, this is done via blood vessels, it also helps us to keep a optimum body temperature, helps us to control our pH in the blood and body tissues, keeping it at a range that the cells can thrive. The last function is to help maintain an ideal balance of electrolytes in the blood and tissue.
Erythrocytes, being red blood cells when they are immature contain a nucleus, but a mature one doesn't have one. Erythrocytes contain a 'prosthetic group', in this there is an active component and this is called haem (ivy-rose web). The haem works with the help from iron, haem connects with oxygen and this then makes oxyhaemoglobin.
The erythrocytes last about 120 days before they break down, this is done by the spleen. The broken down pieces are then transported to the liver by the blood, here the iron is re-cycled to be used by new erythrocytes, the blood pigments form bile salts. The body contains around 4.5 - 5.8 million erythrocytes per micro litre of healthy blood (ivy-rose web). The red blood cells help carry oxygen around the body and eliminate carbon dioxide.
Leucocytes also called white blood cells last only for a few hours to a few days and there are around 5000 - 10,000 per micro litre of blood in the body.There are different types of leucocytes they are granular and agranular. The granular are neutrophils, eosnophils and basophils, and the agranulor do not contain granules are monocytes and lymphocytes. The white blood cells help play a very big part in the immune system.
Lastly there are the trombocytes also known as platelets. These are fragments of a cell, they are a disk shape with a size of 2 - 4um, (1micro metre=1um), (ivy-rose web). The trombocytes contain a lot of granuels but they do not have a nucleus and they last for around 5 - 9 days.In the body there are around 150,000 - 4000,000 platelets per micro litre of blood.
The purpose of the platelets is to help with the process of blood clotting, it also helps to stop the loss of body fluids.
Overall there is a lot contained in the blood and it pays a very important part in the function of our body.

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