Blood is a complex mixture of plasma, cells, hormones, lipids, amino acids, dissolved gases, waste materials, proteins, electrolytes, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Understanding normal blood composition is important for medical care and detecting abnormalities. Blood composition changes constantly and can reveal clues about a patient’s overall health. Blood tests are used to analyze blood composition.
Blood composition is the chemical composition of the blood. Chemically, blood is extremely complex and varies between different species, particularly between vertebrates and invertebrates. Understanding normal blood composition is an important aspect of medical care because it allows doctors to identify situations in which blood composition is abnormal. Abnormalities in the blood can provide clues about a patient’s overall health and can explain the symptoms experienced by the patient.
All told, blood makes up about eight percent of your body weight. It is made up of plasma and cells that move in suspension through the body. About 55% of blood is plasma, and plasma itself is mostly water. Blood cells include thrombocytes, erythrocytes, and leukocytes, all of which perform different functions in the body. The liquid in the plasma keeps these cells in a firm suspension.
In addition to cells, blood also contains hormones, lipids, amino acids, dissolved gases, cell waste materials, proteins, electrolytes, carbohydrates, and vitamins. This complex chemical stew supplies nutrients and gases to the body’s cells so they can function, and exchanges these materials for waste that the cells need to clear so that this waste can be taken away. Blood flows continuously through the body, carrying materials and carrying others away.
Blood composition is constantly changing and the body uses a variety of systems to regulate it. Nutrients, for example, are absorbed from the intestinal tract. The kidneys filter the blood to remove cellular waste and to balance the levels of certain chemicals in the blood so they stay consistent. At the lungs, the blood is involved in a gas exchange in which carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is absorbed by the blood.
When people are sick, their blood composition can change. For example, if someone has a malfunctioning endocrine gland, the levels of hormones in the blood may be unusually high or low because the gland does not produce them in the right amount. A blood test can reveal the imbalance, giving the doctor a tool to determine what is wrong with the patient. Similarly, when people become dehydrated, blood electrolyte levels become disrupted, which can lead to cellular damage.
For a blood test, blood is drawn from the body so that the composition of the blood can be analyzed. It is allowed to sit or spin in a centrifuge so that the plasma and cells separate to make testing easier.
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