Blood is composed of two elements which are plasma and formed elements. Blood plasma is the main component of blood occupying on average about 55% of the total blood volume. The main component of plasma is water making up to 92% of the volume of the plasma. Other components of the plasma are substances like proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, vitamins, electrolytes, hormones cellular waste products and dissolved gasses. The formed elements part of the blood are composed of the cellular parts of the blood. Erythrocytes also known as red blood cells make up the majority of the formed parts with an average of 99.9% red blood cells of the total volume. The other cellular components are the leukocytes known as white blood cells and platelets
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A haematocrit test is therefore a test for the concentration of red blood cells in the blood. A haematocrit test is vital in medical cases as it can give an indication of the health of a patient, whether they have a sufficient concentration of erythrocytes in their blood or whether they’re anaemic. Haematocrit is expressed as a percentage of red blood cells to the entire volume of blood. A healthy normal adult male will have a haematocrit range between 42% and 54%. A healthy normal adult female will have a haematocrit range between 38% and 46% (Shiel, 2015). The mean corpuscular volume (MCV) refers to the average size of a red blood cell (Curry, 2015). Blood clotting or blood coagulation is a mechanism used by the body in order to minimise excessive blood loss during an injury as well is making it easier for the wound to heal. The process of coagulation is carried out by two factors, a blood platelet and proteins. The platelet physically blocks the damages part of the vein by changing shape. This activates the platelets causing them to adhere to one another. The clump of platelets function to plug the hole caused by the injury. The platelet clump is held in place and reinforced by a fibrin …show more content…
Blood type or blood group refers the certain characteristics of an individual’s blood. The identification is made by the absence or presence of certain blood proteins called antigens as well as antibodies. Rhesus factor (or Rh factor) refers to certain proteins present on the surface of red blood cells. A person id Rh positive if the proteins are present and Rh negative if they’re absent (Thompson, 2015). Haemolysis refers to the obliteration of red blood cells. During this process the red blood cell is destroyed so that the haemoglobin is released into the surrounding blood plasma. The process occurs regularly in the body under normal conditions in order to rid the body of old cells and replace them with new cells (Stephens, 2017). Osmotic haemolysis occurs when the red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution. This causes the water to move from the solution into the red blood cells down its osmotic gradient. Too much water moves into the red blood cells which cause them to rapture and release the haemoglobin. Erythrocytes have an internal NaCl concentration of 0.3M and this solution is isotonic. If the cells are placed in a hypertonic solution water will move from the cells to the solution causing crenation of the cells (Goodhead and MacMillan,
A haematocrit test is therefore a test for the concentration of red blood cells in the blood. A haematocrit test is vital in medical cases as it can give an indication of the health of a patient, whether they have a sufficient concentration of erythrocytes in their blood or whether they’re anaemic. Haematocrit is expressed as a percentage of red blood cells to the entire volume of blood. A healthy normal adult male will have a haematocrit range between 42% and 54%. A healthy normal adult female will have a haematocrit range between 38% and 46% (Shiel, 2015). The mean corpuscular volume (MCV) refers to the average size of a red blood cell (Curry, 2015). Blood clotting or blood coagulation is a mechanism used by the body in order to minimise excessive blood loss during an injury as well is making it easier for the wound to heal. The process of coagulation is carried out by two factors, a blood platelet and proteins. The platelet physically blocks the damages part of the vein by changing shape. This activates the platelets causing them to adhere to one another. The clump of platelets function to plug the hole caused by the injury. The platelet clump is held in place and reinforced by a fibrin …show more content…
Blood type or blood group refers the certain characteristics of an individual’s blood. The identification is made by the absence or presence of certain blood proteins called antigens as well as antibodies. Rhesus factor (or Rh factor) refers to certain proteins present on the surface of red blood cells. A person id Rh positive if the proteins are present and Rh negative if they’re absent (Thompson, 2015). Haemolysis refers to the obliteration of red blood cells. During this process the red blood cell is destroyed so that the haemoglobin is released into the surrounding blood plasma. The process occurs regularly in the body under normal conditions in order to rid the body of old cells and replace them with new cells (Stephens, 2017). Osmotic haemolysis occurs when the red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution. This causes the water to move from the solution into the red blood cells down its osmotic gradient. Too much water moves into the red blood cells which cause them to rapture and release the haemoglobin. Erythrocytes have an internal NaCl concentration of 0.3M and this solution is isotonic. If the cells are placed in a hypertonic solution water will move from the cells to the solution causing crenation of the cells (Goodhead and MacMillan,