BLOOD

BLOOD AND ITS COMPONENTS

Blood is the fluid which flows in our blood vessels. It is composed of plasma and blood cells. In the later slides we are going to learn about :

1. Plasma

2. Blood cells

3. Its functions

Plasma

Blood is composed of a liquid called plasma in which different types of cells are suspended . 90% of plasma is water and other 10% of plasma contains blood cells , nutrients etc.

Red blood cells

Red blood cells are biconcave in shape and exchange of gases takes place in these cells. Scientific name of red blood cells is erythrocytes.

Red blood cells contains a red pigment called haemoglobin which binds with oxygen which carries it to all parts of body. Haemoglobin also makes our blood appear red.

White blood cells

White blood cells are also called leucocytes. They are called "soldiers of our body" because they protect us from different and harmful bacterias that may enter our body.

Platelets

Platelets also called thrombocytes are very important for our body because they perform the function of clotting of blood. When someone gets a cut , after some time the blood stops flowing out because platelets in our blood forms clot on the wound.

Functions of blood in our body:

• It transports oxygen rich air from lungs to all parts of the body.

• It absorbs digested food from small intestine and transfers it to each and every cell of body.

• It takes waste materials to parts from where they can be removed.