Download The components of the blood

The components of the blood
and their jobs
What is blood made up of?
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Red blood cells
White blood cells
Platelets
Plasma
Breakdown products of digestion, such as
glucose, fatty acids and amino acids
Dissolved mineral salts
Carbon dioxide
Urea
hormones
What is plasma?
• Plasma is the liquid part of the blood
which carries everything else.
• Plasma is a straw-yellow coloured liquid
• If everything in plasma was removed,
plasma would look like this
What do the different parts of blood
look like under a microscope?
Red
blood
cells
White
blood
cells
What is the job of red blood cells?
• They have a round, flat disc
shape for a large surface area
• They do not have a nucleus
• They contain haemoglobin
which combines with oxygen
in areas of high concentration
to form oxyhaemoglobin
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Oxygen + haemoglobin
oxyhaemoglobin
• Red blood cells carry oxygen
to the cells of the body for use
in respiration
What do white blood cells do?
• White blood cells
help the body to fight
invading bacteria
• White blood cells will
engulf and ingest
invading bacteria
Other important jobs of the white
blood cells:
• They produce
antibodies which can
recognise and fight
bacteria
• They produce
antitoxins which
neutralise the toxins
(poisons) that
bacteria produce,
which make us feel ill
What do platelets do?
• Platelets are fragments of cells
• The job of platelets is to help blood clot and
form a scab
• The platelets are involved in the formation
of fibrin, which is needed for clotting blood
• This is useful for stopping bleeding, and for
preventing germs from entering the body
through the cut
Summary of the composition of blood
Questions on the blood
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What part of blood carries oxygen to cells?
Why are red blood cells flat disc-shaped?
What is the job of platelets?
What do white blood cells do?
Describe how a white blood cell carries out its
job.
• What is the straw-coloured liquid which carries
all the other parts of blood called?
More questions on blood
A
• Name cell A
• Name cell B
B
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