Our blood helps keep us alive.
Your blood makes up around 7% of your body weight
This equals between 1 and 1 and a half gallons 4.5 to 5.5 liters
Your blood is considered a connective tissue
.
It has many important functions
Here is a list of some of the major jobs
Transports oxygen to each cell and
removes waste material like carbon dioxide
Helps regulate your temperature and ph levels
Fights disease and helps the immune system do its job.
Blood transports nutrients, such as sugars, fats and proteins, amino acids,
Along with hormones which are your chemical messages of the endocrine system.
If you place blood in a centrifuge and spun it around
Here is how it would separate out
44 % would be red blood cells also called erythrocytes
1 % would be white blood cells and platelets
55% plasma
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen. Red blood cells also remove carbon dioxide from your body, transporting it to the lungs for you to exhale.
Red blood cells are made inside your bones, in the bone marrow. They typically live for about 120 days, and then they die.
White blood cells (WBCs), also called leukocytes, are an important part of the immune system. These cells help fight infections by attacking bacteria, viruses, and germs that invade the body. White blood cells originate in the bone marrow but circulate throughout the bloodstream. There are five major types of white blood cells
Plasma
Is the liquid portion of the blood.
It is 90 % water but contains other very important ingredients such as
glucose, electrolytes such as calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphate
hormones and waste products.
Platelets are tiny blood cells that help your body form clots to stop bleeding. Without these platelets, a minor cut could result in you losing all of your blood.
There are 8 different types of blood
A positive or negative
B positive or negative
AB positive or negative
O positive or negative
