Kerala PSC - Biology - Human Body (Blood)

The fluid connective tissue which circulates throughout the body - Blood
The study of blood is known as - Haematology.

Blood is the circulating fluid in the body, composed of blood corpuscles (45%) and the fluid, plasma (55%)

Specific gravity of blood ranges between 1.05 and 1.06 and it is alkaline in nature.
pH of blood is 7.4
A healthy man has about 5 litres of blood in his body
Blood cells are of three types

Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC)
White Blood Corpuscles (WBC)
Platelets

RBC contains hemoglobin and this gives red colour to the blood

Life span of RBC - 100 to 120 days

WBCs produce antibodies which protect the body against antigens.
WBCs are called the soldiers of the body's defence system.
Life span of WBC 10 to 14 days
Blood platelets are short lived cells which can clump together to set off blood clotting.
The blood group are classified by Karl Landsteiner into A,B,AB and O group.
Blood groups are determined on the basis of the antigens contained in the blood.
An 'O' group person is a universal donor and 'AB' group person is a universal recipient.
Blood circulation was discovered by William Harvy
Blood pressure is measured in a large artery of the arm called the bronchial artery
The instrument used to measure blood pressure is sphygmamanometer
Normal BP 120/80 mm of mercury.
High blood pressure is hypertension and low blood pressure is hypo-tension.
Rh factor was discovered by Landsteiner and Weiner in 1940 in the RBC of Rhesus monkey.
Vitamins necessary for the synthesis of RBC are folic acid and Vitamin B12.
Haemophilia (Christmas disease) is a hereditary disease in which there is delay in blood coagulation.
The respiratory pigment present in the blood - Hemoglobin
The pigment present in muscles - Myoglobin
Reduction in RBC count or hemoglobin are both is known as - Anemia.
The colored pigments produced by the destruction of RBC in the Liver or Spleen- Bilirubin and Biliverdin, The colour of Bilirubin is yellow
Plasma Proteins : Albumin, Globulin, Fibrinogen and Prothrombin.
The protein which absorbs oxygen from lungs Hemoglobin

In a normal healthy man there will be 14.5g of hemoglobin in 100 ml of blood.
In women the quantity of hemoglobin will be 13.5g/100 ml

The old red corpuscles are destroyed in the liver and spleen.

Spleen is known as 'graveyard of RBC'

New red corpuscles are produced from the bone marrow.
Increase in number of RBC causes Polycythemia.
Blood cells help in blood clotting and coagulation.
Different types of White Blood Corpuscles(Leucocytes)

Neutrophil
Eosinophil
Basophil
Monocyte
Lymphocyte

The uncontrolled increase in the number of white corpuscles causes Leukemia or Blood cancer.
A mere increase in WBC count is known as leukocytes.
White blood cells are also known as Leukocyte
A decrease in count of WBC is called Leukocytopenia
The largest WBC - Monocyte
The smallest WBC - Lymphocyte
Platelets are also called Thrombocytes
Quantity of water in blood - 60%
Reservoir of blood - Spleen

It is also known as Blood Bank of our body.
In the embryonic stage the RBC are formed in the liver and spleen. But after birth, they are formed in the red bone marrow. The process of formation of RBC is known as erythropoiesis.