A Simple Guide to the Blood Cells, Related Diseases And Use in Disease Diagnosis

By Kenneth Kee

The Blood Cells

What are Blood Cells?

Blood cells are cells produced by hematopoiesis (the process of blood production) in the bone marrow and make up 45% of the blood in a human body.

What are the Types of Blood Cells?

In the human body there are 3 types of blood cells:

1. Red blood cells – Erythrocytes

2. White blood cells – Leukocytes

3. Platelets– Thrombocytes.

They are suspended in a slightly alkaline liquid called the plasma which forms the remaining 55% of the blood volume.

The plasma contains 90% water and 9% proteins with remainder being:

1. Glucose

2. Antibodies

3. Hormones

4. Enzymes

5. Vitamins

6. Mineral salts

7. Lipids

8. Gases

In an adult person, the blood is about 1/12th of the body weight and this means 5-6 liters.

What are the functions of the blood cells?

The blood cell has important functions:

1. It brings oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and collects the carbon dioxide (CO2) back to the lungs.

2. It also carries nutritive substances such as proteins, glucose and minerals to the tissues and gathers the excreted material which will be filtered through the kidneys.

The blood also carries hormones, enzymes and vitamins.

3. It protects the body by mean of the antibacterial activity of the leukocytes, the bactericidal power of the serum and the immune response of which the lymphocytes are the protagonists.

What are the features of different Blood Cells?

In the blood are present special cells, classified in:

1. Red Blood cells or erythrocytes

2. White Blood Cells or leukocytes.

3. Platelets or thrombocytes

Erythrocytes (red cells)

The erythrocytes are the most numerous blood cells i.e. about 4-6 millions/mm3.

They are also called red cells.
In man erythrocytes are devoid of a nucleus and have the shape of a biconcave lens.

The red cells are rich in hemoglobin, a protein able to bind in a faint manner to oxygen.

These cells are responsible for providing oxygen to tissues and partly for recovering carbon dioxide produced as waste.

However, most CO2 is carried by plasma, in the form of soluble carbonates

The lack of nucleus allows more room for hemoglobin and the biconcave shape of these cells raises the surface and cytoplasmic (cell to plasma) volume ratio.

These characteristics make more efficient the diffusion of oxygen by these cells.

In so-called "sickle-cell Anemia", erythrocytes become typically sickle-shaped.

Red cells can have different shapes:

1. normal (discocyte),
2. berry (crenated),
3. burr (echinocyte),
4. target (codocyte),
5. oat,
6. sickled,
7. helmet,
8. pinched,
9. pointed,
10. indented,

The mean life of erythrocytes is about 120 days.

When they come to the end of their life, they are retained by the spleen where they are phagocyted by macrophages.

Leukocytes (white cells)

Leukocytes, or white cells, are responsible for the defense of the organism.

In the blood, they are much less numerous than red cells.

The density of the leukocytes in the blood is 5000-7000 /mm3.

Leukocytes divide in two categories:

1. granulocytes

The term granulocyte is due to the presence of granules in the cytoplasm of these cells.
In the different types of granulocytes, the granules are different.
Granulocytes distinguish themselves in neutrophil, eosinophil and basophil.

2. lymphoid cells or agranulocytes.

The lymphoid cells, instead, distinguish themselves in lymphocytes and monocytes.

Each type of leukocyte is present in the blood in different proportions:

a. neutrophil 50 - 70 %

b. eosinophil 2 - 4 %

c. basophil 0.5 - 1 %

d. lymphocyte 20 - 40 %

e. monocyte 3 - 8 %

TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter 1 The Blood Cells

Chapt

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jun 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301830503

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

to

Blood Cells,

Related Diseases

And Use in Disease Diagnosis

by

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B., B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2013 Smashwords Edition

Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

to my wife Dorothy

and my children

Carolyn, Grace

and Kelvin

This book describes Blood cells and Use in Disease Diagnosis such as Anemia, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Thrombocytopenia, Thalassemia, Hemophilia and other Blood Conditions which are seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

The Blood Cells

What are Blood Cells?

Blood cells are cells produced by hematopoiesis (the process of blood production) in the bone marrow and make up 45% of the blood in a human body.

What are the Types of Blood Cells?

In the human body there are 3 types of blood cells:

1. Red blood cells – Erythrocytes

2. White blood cells – Leukocytes

3. Platelets– Thrombocytes.

They are suspended in a slightly alkaline liquid called the plasma which forms the remaining 55% of the blood volume.

The plasma contains 90% water and 9% proteins with remainder being:

1. Glucose

2. Antibodies

3. Hormones

4. Enzymes

5. Vitamins

6. Mineral salts

7. Lipids

8. Gases

In an adult person, the blood is about 1/12th of the body weight and this means 5-6 liters.

What are the functions of the blood cells?

The blood cell has important functions:

1. It brings oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and collects the carbon dioxide (CO2) back to the lungs.

2. It also carries nutritive substances such as proteins, glucose and minerals to the tissues and gathers the excreted material which will be filtered through the kidneys.

The blood also carries hormones, enzymes and vitamins.

3. It protects the body by mean of the antibacterial activity of the leukocytes, the bactericidal power of the serum and the immune response of which the lymphocytes are the protagonists.

What are the features of different Blood Cells?

In the blood are present special cells, classified in:

1. Red Blood cells or erythrocytes

2. White Blood Cells or leukocytes.

3. Platelets or thrombocytes

Erythrocytes (red cells)

The erythrocytes are the most numerous blood cells i.e. about 4-6 millions/mm³.

They are also called red cells.

In man erythrocytes are devoid of a nucleus and have the shape of a biconcave lens.

The red cells are rich in hemoglobin, a protein able to bind in a faint manner to oxygen.

These cells are responsible for providing oxygen to tissues and partly for recovering carbon dioxide produced as waste.

However, most CO2 is carried by plasma, in the form of soluble carbonates

The lack of nucleus allows more room for hemoglobin