Physiology of blood
Peter Kam, Ian Power, Michael J. Cousins, Philip J. Siddal in Principles of Physiology for the Anaesthetist, 2015
After studying this chapter, the reader should be able to Explain the principal role of blood and its chief constituents.Describe the origin of blood cells.Describe the features of iron metabolism and its role in the body.Describe the structure and functions of platelets.Describe the carriage of oxygen and carbon dioxide by the red cells.Describe the physiology of blood coagulation including the cell-based theory of coagulation.Outline the mechanisms of fibrinolysis.Explain the significance of blood groups and their importance in blood transfusions.Describe the composition and functions of plasma.Outline the physiological consequences of blood transfusion.
Myths and Facts About Blood and Stem Cells
Tariq I Mughal, John M Goldman, Sabena T Mughal in Understanding Leukemias, Lymphomas, and Myelomas, 2017
An adult man has about four liters of blood in his body; women and children have somewhat less in proportion to their size. Blood consists of a yellow fluid, plasma, in which are suspended three major types of cells—red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are disc-shaped with a shallow concavity on both large surfaces. Figure 2.3 shows a photomicrograph of a normal red blood cell. They contain a fluid, which is rich in enzymes and a red pigment called hemoglobin. The main function of the red blood cells is to carry inhaled oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, where it is used to release stored energy. Carbon dioxide, produced in the tissues, is carried by the red cells to the lungs, where it is exhaled from the body. There are about 4 to 5.6 × 1012/L red blood cells in the blood in females and about 4.5 to 6.5 × 1012/L in males. It is the great number of red blood cells that gives blood its characteristic red color. The production of red blood cells is under the control of the protein EPO, which is produced in the kidneys (90%), liver, and other organs. Red blood cells have a lifespan of up to 120 days, after which time they die of senescence.
The Health Care Consumer Population
Marcia Egan, Goldie Kadushin in Social Work Practice in Community-Based Health Care, 2012
HIV is the virus that attacks the immune system by infecting a specific white blood cell (i.e., CD4+), depressing the immune system and, thus, impairing the ability of the body to fight infection and diseases, and causing AIDS. White blood cells are an important part of the immune system that helps fight infections. Being infected with HIV (i.e., HIV+), however, does not mean that a person has AIDS. Rather, AIDS is the last and most severe stage of the HIV infection. As the virus attacks and destroys CD4+ white blood cells, the immune system becomes less able to fight infection and disease. A diagnosis of AIDS is based on the presence of one or both of the following: an opportunistic infection or certain malignancies, and/or levels of CD4+ cells below 200 cells per microliter. An opportunistic infection, such as pneumocystis pneumonia, or a cancer, such as Kaposi's sarcoma, is a disease that would not develop in a person with an intact immune system (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003a).
The effects of gold nanoparticles on the human blood functions
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2018
Zeng He, Changjian Li, Xiaojie Zhang, Rui Zhong, Hong Wang, Jiaxin Liu, Libo Du
The whole blood major components contain blood cells and plasma. The blood cells include red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets (PLTs). The function of RBCs is transporting oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and tissues; and PLTs have a major role in blood clots to prevent excess blood loss in the wound situation. WBCs are defending invader by phagocytosis to engulf pathogens, developing antibodies to fight infection. The plasma maintains the balancing acid–base pH and osmotic pressure, and participating in blood coagulation with platelet during the wounding. The aims of our study are to investigate the distribution of AuNPs in blood components, to evaluate whether AuNPs affect the functions of blood cells and plasma prior to their clinical application. AuNPs with 13 nm have been widely used in the diagnosis, therapy and imaging due to their low cytotoxicity. PEG@AuNPs and CT-AuNPs are the two most common AuNPs in applications. CT-AuNPs have strong activity to participate chemical reactions [13]. In this study, we use PEG@AuNPs (13 nm) and CT-AuNPs (13 nm) to investigate the effect of AuNPs on the function of blood, to clarify the importance of surface chemistry in haemocompatibility of AuNPs and to evaluate the biosafety prior to its clinical application.
The role of artificial cells in the fight against COVID-19: deliver vaccine, hemoperfusion removes toxic cytokines, nanobiotherapeutics lower free radicals and pCO2 and replenish blood supply
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2022
Nanobiotherapeutics have been developed originally as red blood cell substitutes. Red blood cells have three major functions: (1) transport oxygen from the lung to the tissue, (2) remove damaging oxygen radicals and (3) carry carbon dioxide CO2. from the tissue to the lung to be removed. This has been developed in 3 progressing steps: Step 1. Oxygen carrier; Step 2. oxygen carrier with antioxidant properties and Step 3. oxygen carrier with antioxidant function and CO2 removal functions. Originally these are only to replace red blood cells and not to function as nanobiotherapeutics. We have recently prepared a nanobiotherapeutic with up to 6 times enhancement of red blood cell functions by using enzyme concentration of superoxide dismutase catalase and carbonic anhydrase that are six times that of rbc. This can now function also as a nanobiotherapeutic to enhance the removal of oxygen radicals and CO [46–48].
ARTIFICIAL CELL evolves into nanomedicine, biotherapeutics, blood substitutes, drug delivery, enzyme/gene therapy, cancer therapy, cell/stem cell therapy, nanoparticles, liposomes, bioencapsulation, replicating synthetic cells, cell encapsulation/scaffold, biosorbent/immunosorbent haemoperfusion/plasmapheresis, regenerative medicine, encapsulated microbe, nanobiotechnology, nanotechnology
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2019
Red blood cells have 3 major functions (1): transport oxygen from the lung to the tissue (2), remove damaging oxygen radicals and (3) carry carbon dioxide CO2 from the tissue to the lung to be removed. The urgency of H.I.V. in donor blood necessitates the development of the simplest system in the shortest time. The most extensive clinical trials were based on polyhaemoglobin (PolyHb) developed by Biopure (Hemapure: bovine PolyHb) [24] and Northfield (human PolyHb) [21a] using the basic principle of glutaraldehyde cross-linked haemoglobin first reported by Chang [7] (Figure 8). This has no blood groups and can be pasteurized to remove infective agents and can be stored at room temperature for more than 1 year. Large-scale clinical trials have been carried out including using human PolyHb in the ambulance without the need for typing or cross-matching [21a]. Greenburg, Jahr and others have carried out clinical trials using Hemapure: bovine PolyHb [23,24]. This has been approved for routine clinical use in South Africa to avoid the use of H.I.V contaminated donor blood [24]. Other ongoing research includes the use of other sources of haemoglobin by Chen’s groups with porcine Hb [21b], Yang’s group with Placental Hb [22], and Bulow’s group and others with recombinant Hb [23].