The shape of their body.....

"Toni Morrison, an American novelist once said that we never shape the world… the world shapes us. Then what is the thing that shapes our blood? Hmm... actually, that question is not the most important one. The most intriguing one is, what are the actual shape of our blood cells? Heart shape or shapeless?"

1. Erythrocytes

Erythrocyte is a simple structured cell in a biconcave and disc shape. The cell surface on both sides is bent inward to form an interior sphere shape. It has strong and flexible plasma membrane which allows the cell to enter narrow blood vessels in our body. The disc shape of the cell assists in increasing the total surface area of the cell. It will ease the diffusion for gaseous exchange process. The diameter of a single erythrocyte is in a range of 7 to 8 micrometre. Unusual? Well, blood is blood. What do you expect from the cells of your body? Shaped like a human? Isn’t it much more frightening? Its red colour have already managed to invoke fear in our heart. But why actually erythrocytes are red in colour? It is simple! Erythrocyte contains protein known as haemoglobin, which gives a red colour to the blood. It also contains specific antigen which determines one’s blood type. Mature erythrocyte does not contain nucleus, ribosome or mitochondria.

2. Leukocytes.

Leukocyte is actually a group of 5 siblings that have different shape and form. Let’s see how they differed from each other.

· Neutrophils

The diameter of this cell is in the range of 10 to 12 micrometre. Normal neutrophils contain nucleus with 3 to 5 lobes and connected together by filament. The cytoplasm is filled with granules but they are fine and pale in colour.

· Eosinophils

The diameter of this cell is in the range of 10 to 12 micrometre. It is a bi-lobed cell connected by filament. It also contains granules filled the cytoplasm which is large and red orange in colour.

· Basophils

   The diameter of this cell is in the range of 8 to 10 micrometre. It contains 2 lobes nucleus which connected through filament. The nucleus is hard to be detected as the colour of the granules is the same as the nucleus.

· Lymphocyte

The diameter of this cell is in the range of 6 to 9 micrometre but larger lymphocytes may appear in 10 to 14 micrometer. The nucleus is dark and dense in the cell. It has scanty cytoplasm with bluish colour, just like the sky! Lymphocytes do not contain granules like the others.

· Monocytes

The diameter of this cell is in the range of 12 to 20 micrometre. It is the largest cell among other leukocytes and it does not have specific shape. Simply put, the fattest one among the siblings. The nucleus is in a horse-shoe shape. There are no granules around the cytoplasm but a small number of tiny vacuoles can be found.

3. Thrombocytes

Thrombocytes are multiform structure made up into round and spindle-shaped. Despite labelled as true cell, thrombocyte is actually classified as cell fragments measured for about 2 to 4 micrometres. Similar to erythrocyte, it does not contain nuclear DNA due to the lack of nucleus in the structure. However, thrombocytes still contain other organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum fragments and granules. Thrombocytes are rich in adhesive proteins functions in developing filaments and spindle during activation period. They also contain specific granules which can secrete protein for firm plug formation in the blood vesssels. What do you think about this? Such a lot of things to remember, right?

"There are reason on why each thing have their own individual shape. All their structures help them in carrying out their respective functions in our body. So what about us? Hmm… whatever. But for sure I love the shape I’m in. Why? Because I’m a fountain a blood in the shape of a girl!!  Okay, maybe a boy too."

MEMOIR OF BLOOD

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"Time is long, but life is short. Despite its important roles in our body, blood never have the chance to stay long enough to see the impact of their contribution. Now, we were humbly present to you a blog dedicated to the blood, our stream of life. All about blood, its intricate journey in the body, the link and correlation to beauty and health and the end of its life are all here. Stay tuned for our weekly update to apprehend the existence of our source of life, the blood."

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THE BODY OF BLOOD

Ever heard about blood is thicker than water? Keep calm, we are not going to discuss about literature today. The question is, what is there in blood that makes it thicker than water? For your information, blood can be divided into two parts, the cellular components and the plasma. Well, let’s take a look at the foundation of the human blood.

Cellular components

The cellular components that make up 45% of human blood are named so as they are enclosed in a plasma membrane and have a definite structure and shape. Its loyal subordinates are erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets.

1. Erythrocytes

An erythrocyte or known as red blood cell (RBC) is a disc-shaped cell with a thick rim and a thin sunken centre. The plasma membrane of a mature RBC has glycoproteins and glycolipids that determine a person’s blood type. On its inner surface are two proteins called spectrin and actin that give the membrane resilience and durability. For what? Well, this aspect allows the RBCs to stretch, bend and fold as they squeeze through small blood vessels, and to spring back to their original shape as they pass through larger vessel.

2. Leukocytes

White blood cells (WBCs) are also known as leukocytes. They can be futher divided into granulocytes and agranulocytes. The former have cytoplasms that contain organelles that appear as coloured granules through light microscopy, hence their name. Granulocytes consist of neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. In contrast, agranulocytes do not contain granules. They consist of lymphocytes and monocytes.

3. Platelet

The blood platelets are the smallest cells of the blood, averaging about 2 to 4 μm in diameter. Although much more numerous than the white blood cells, they occupy a much smaller fraction of the volume of the blood because of their relatively minute size. Like the red blood cells, they lack a nucleus and are incapable of cell division or mitosis, but they have a more complex metabolism and internal structure than the red blood cells. When seen in fresh blood they appear spheroid, but they have a tendency to extrude hair-like filaments from their membranes. They adhere to each other but not to red blood cells and white blood cells. Although minute in structure, never deemed them useless as the tiny granules within platelets contain substances important for the clot-promoting activity of platelets.

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Plasma

Made up 90 to 92% from water and another 8 to 10% from salt, plasma composed 55% of human blood.  The salt in plasma comprised of several other components. Among them are:

- Plasma Proteins

These are the most abundant substance in plasma by weight and play a part in a variety of roles including clotting, defence and transport. There are three major categories of plasma proteins.

· Albumins, which are the smallest and most abundant plasma proteins.

· Globulins, which can be subdivided into three classes from smallest to largest in molecular weight into alpha, beta and gamma globulins.

· Fibrinogen, which is a soluble precursor of a sticky protein called fibrin, which forms the framework of blood clot.

- Nutrients

Those absorbed by the digestive tract are transported in the blood plasma. These include glucose, amino acids, fats, cholesterol, phospholipids, vitamins and minerals.

- Dissolved Gases

Some oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported by plasma. Plasma also contains a substantial amount of dissolved nitrogen.

- Electrolytes

The most abundant of these are sodium ions, which account for more of the blood’s osmolarity than any other solute.

- Waste Products

Being toxic end products of the breakdown of substances in the body, these are usually cleared from the bloodstream and are excreted by the kidneys at a rate that balances their production.

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"Such a lot of things in a simple looking fluid, right? No wonder the blood is thicker than water.  However, other quotes say, blood is thicker than water but maple syrup is thicker than blood. It seemed the numerous components of blood are still minuscule compared to the constituent of maple syrup! "

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