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What is blood?

Blood is a connective fluid tissue made basically of two main components: Plasma and cell-based components.  Plasma is a yellowish fluid that helps carrying substances and facilitates blood flow. it is mainly compossed by water, proteins, ions, nutrients, wastes and hormones.  It is the 55% of blood.

 

The cell-based component is a set that groups erythrocytes or red blood cells that transport oxygen, the leukocytes or white blood cells which fight infection and disease, and platelets that are essential for blood clotting.

What is blood?

Blood types

How blood is formed?

Hematopoiesis is the process by which blood is formed.  It happens everyday in the bone marrow of our bones.  There, a stem cell called Hemocytoblast can produce two different lines of cells: A lymphoid that will give rise to lymphocytes and a myeloid that will give rise to erythrocytes, megacariocytes, which turn into thrombocytes that produce platelets,, and myeloblasts that will mature into different kinds of leukocytes.

Formation of leukocytes

Formation of erythrocytes

Checkpoint

 

1. Compare and contrast the different components of blood.

2. How is the origin of erythrocytes different from leukocytes?

3. Describe the process of blood clotting.

4. Explain why platelets are not cells.

5. Which is the function of plasma?

Blood clotting

Excess of cholesterol in blood

The excess of cholesterol in blood.

 

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all cells of the body.

Your body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs. However, cholesterol also is found in some of the foods you eat.

 

Cholesterol travels through your bloodstream in small packages called lipoproteins (lip-o-PRO-teens). These packages are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside.

 

Two kinds of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout your body: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Having healthy levels of both types of lipoproteins is important.

 

LDL cholesterol sometimes is called “bad” cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. (Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your body.)

 

HDL cholesterol sometimes is called “good” cholesterol. This is because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.

 

(See complete article at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc/ )

Try this...

With three of your classmates, observe the importance of receiving the right type of blood during a transfusion:

 

Each one will have four plastic cups filled with red ink, blue ink, purple ink or water.  Red ink for blood type A, Blue for blood type B, purple for AB and water for O.  Take turns for donate blood to each one of your classmates.  See what happens as you give blood to each one.  Write your results in your notebook.

 

  1. What happened to each cup as they received "blood"?

  2. Which one changed the most?

  3. Which one didn't have any relevant change?

  4. Explain your results.

  5. Download the file.

 

 

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