Blood components?

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Blood is primarily made up of three things: blood cells, plasma, and platelets. The cells are predominantly white or red, and together they do most of the essential work done by the fluid as a whole. Red blood cells carry oxygen, for example, and white blood cells help prevent infections and kill bacteria. Without plasma, however, both types of cells would have difficulty circulating and moving from place to place. Plasma is composed mostly of water and gives blood its familiar fluid consistency. Platelets, in turn, help keep everything in the body; this element is mainly responsible for coagulation, which prevents people from bleeding to death and allows wounds and incisions to heal. It is often the case that blood also contains small amounts of other things, including some nutrients, proteins and electrolytes. These things are collectively known as “secondary elements.” In general, all blood components must work together to maintain ideal health. While everyone has their own identity, when someone is weakened or tense the entire balance can be disturbed, often leading to serious health consequences.

Red blood cells

Red blood cells, known scientifically as erythrocytes, are probably what most people think of when they think of the major components of blood. These cells use hemoglobin to carry oxygen around the body. It is this hemoglobin, or more specifically the iron in hemoglobin, that gives blood its red color. Red blood cells are relatively round with indentations in the center and are often described as donuts with the centers just slightly filled in.

Oxygen delivery is a fundamental function of health, and these cells do most of this work. When blood travels from the heart to the lungs, hemoglobin molecules bind with the oxygen in the lungs. After the blood has passed through the lungs, it briefly returns to the heart to be pumped to the rest of the body, gradually supplying the rest of the body’s cells with oxygen.

White blood cells

White blood cells, also more formally known as leukocytes, are another key component of blood. These infection-fighting cells are usually of three types: granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes. There are two other different types of cells in the lymphocyte family: T cells and B lymphocytes. T cells are responsible for directing what the immune system does, while B lymphocytes make antibodies. Monocytes pass through cell walls and become macrophages, which then eat both harmful bacteria and damaged and dead cells that are native to the body.

platelets

Platelets, or thrombocytes, are also technically blood cells, but they’re much smaller than reds and whites, and they play a very different role, too. The primary function of platelets is to make blood clot. When platelets are exposed to air, which happens when a wound bleeds, they break down to release a special clotting substance into the blood. This substance indirectly causes fibrinogen, a protein, to become fibrin, which is a coagulating agent. The fibrin turns into long strings, which stick together to form a clot that prevents red blood cells from leaving the body through the wound. This makes platelets one of the most important blood components, as they prevent excessive blood loss and promote rapid healing which can reduce the chance of infection.

Plasma

Blood plasma makes up more than half of the total blood composition and by itself is about 90% water. The main purpose of plasma is to transport the other components of blood throughout the body. While doing this, it also carries various proteins, nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, cholesterol, vitamins, and chemicals like iron.
Secondary elements
These proteins and other nutrients are generally known as “secondary building blocks” of blood chemistry. They are not always present and do not always occur in predictable or otherwise routine concentrations. Some of these have to do with a person’s lifestyle or health needs. The blood often responds to the body’s crises or dietary excesses by flushing nutrients to or from a specific location.

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