Goy, David
The Functions of Blood Blood plays a very important role in maintaining the normal functions of the different, tissues, organs and organ systems in the body. It serves as the primary medium for carrying and transporting important gases, minerals and nutrients needed to maintain homeostasis. Blood is composed of several components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Plasma is the fluid compartment of the blood; it carries ions, minerals, nutrients, gases, hormones and antibodies. Ions and nutrients are necessary for normal biological processes in the body since this act as substrates, coenzymes or cofactors which drive the chemical reactions occurring at the molecular level. Hormones induce different effects …show more content…
It also binds oxygen and deposits it to the different tissues and organs in the body and takes away carbon dioxide from those organs and delivers them to the lungs to be expelled from the body.
White blood cells only compose a small portion of the blood but still play a very important role, especially in the defense of the body from harmful pathogens. This includes several different types of cells such as neutrophils which “eat” up debris and harmful pathogenic organisms through phagocytosis. There are also basophils and eosinophils which both contribute to allergic responses in order to protect the body from foreign materials.
Platelets or thrombocytes are small particles which facilitate the clotting process in the blood by clumping together. This is very important because clotting serves to plug up the breaks in the blood vessel, thereby preventing any further loss of blood. The clot also helps promote the healing process so that the blood vessel can quickly be repaired to its normal state. Without these clotting factors, even minor injuries can prove to be very serious because excessive blood loss is
The Functions of Blood Blood plays a very important role in maintaining the normal functions of the different, tissues, organs and organ systems in the body. It serves as the primary medium for carrying and transporting important gases, minerals and nutrients needed to maintain homeostasis. Blood is composed of several components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Plasma is the fluid compartment of the blood; it carries ions, minerals, nutrients, gases, hormones and antibodies. Ions and nutrients are necessary for normal biological processes in the body since this act as substrates, coenzymes or cofactors which drive the chemical reactions occurring at the molecular level. Hormones induce different effects …show more content…
It also binds oxygen and deposits it to the different tissues and organs in the body and takes away carbon dioxide from those organs and delivers them to the lungs to be expelled from the body.
White blood cells only compose a small portion of the blood but still play a very important role, especially in the defense of the body from harmful pathogens. This includes several different types of cells such as neutrophils which “eat” up debris and harmful pathogenic organisms through phagocytosis. There are also basophils and eosinophils which both contribute to allergic responses in order to protect the body from foreign materials.
Platelets or thrombocytes are small particles which facilitate the clotting process in the blood by clumping together. This is very important because clotting serves to plug up the breaks in the blood vessel, thereby preventing any further loss of blood. The clot also helps promote the healing process so that the blood vessel can quickly be repaired to its normal state. Without these clotting factors, even minor injuries can prove to be very serious because excessive blood loss is