Blood
Blood looks like a single red liquid, but it is really four ingredients doing four different jobs. Red blood cells carry oxygen, using the iron-rich pigment haemoglobin that gives blood its colour. White blood cells are the mobile part of the immune system, hunting down infection. Platelets are cell fragments that rush to a wound and trigger clotting. And all of them float in plasma, the straw-coloured liquid that also ferries nutrients, hormones and waste. Round it off with the ABO and Rh blood-group systems and you understand what is actually flowing through every vessel.
Practice this set for free — no account needed. Loads 16 flashcards into the learner.
Practice in the free learnerHow to study this set
Sort the four components into “cells that carry” (red cells), “cells that defend” (white cells), “fragments that plug” (platelets) and “liquid that carries everything” (plasma). One verb per component makes the whole panel easy to recall. For blood groups, learn O negative as the universal red-cell donor and AB positive as the universal recipient — the two extremes anchor the rest.
All 16 flashcards
What are the four main components of blood?
Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma
What is the main job of red blood cells?
To carry oxygen around the body
Which protein in red blood cells binds oxygen and gives blood its red colour?
Haemoglobin
Which metal does haemoglobin contain that is essential for carrying oxygen?
Iron
Do mature human red blood cells have a nucleus?
No
They lose their nucleus as they mature, leaving more room for haemoglobin.
What is the main job of white blood cells?
To defend the body against infection and disease
They are the mobile cells of the immune system.
What is the main job of platelets?
To help the blood clot and seal damaged blood vessels
What is a blood clot?
A plug of platelets held together by a protein mesh that seals a broken blood vessel and stops bleeding
Which protein forms the mesh that holds a blood clot together?
Fibrin
What is plasma?
The pale-yellow liquid part of blood that carries the cells, nutrients, hormones and waste
Roughly what proportion of blood is plasma?
About 55 percent
What are the four ABO blood groups?
A, B, AB and O
Which blood type is the universal red-cell donor?
O negative
Its red cells can be given safely to almost any recipient.
Which blood type is the universal recipient?
AB positive
People with AB positive blood can receive red cells of any type.
What does the Rh factor — the “positive” or “negative” in a blood type — indicate?
Whether the Rh (D) antigen is present on the surface of the red blood cells
Where are blood cells produced in adults?
In the bone marrow
What to learn next
That completes the Cardiovascular System path — the heart, the vessels, and the blood they move. Keep all three decks in your review rotation, and explore the other anatomy categories to keep building.