Constituents

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In mammals

Blood accounts for 7% of the human body weight, with an average density around 1060 kg/m3, very close to pure water's density of 1000 kg/m3. The average adult has a blood volume of roughly 5 litres (11 US pt) or 1.3 gallons, which is composed of plasma and several kinds of cells. These blood cells (which are also called corpuscles or "formed elements") consist of erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs), leukocytes (white blood cells), and thrombocytes (platelets). By volume, the red blood cells constitute about 45% of whole blood, the plasma about 54.3%, and white cells about 0.7%.

Whole blood (plasma and cells) exhibits non-Newtonian fluid dynamics.specify

  • Human blood fractioned by centrifugation: Plasma (upper, yellow layer), buffy coat (middle, thin white layer) and erythrocyte layer (bottom, red layer) can be seen.

  • Blood circulation: Red = oxygenated, blue = deoxygenated

  • Illustration depicting formed elements of blood

  • Two tubes of EDTA-anticoagulated blood.
    Left tube: after standing, the RBCs have settled at the bottom of the tube.
    Right tube: Freshly drawn blood

Cells

One microliter of blood contains:

  • 4.7 to 6.1 million (male), 4.2 to 5.4 million (female) erythrocytes: Red blood cells contain the blood's hemoglobin and distribute oxygen. Mature red blood cells lack a nucleus and organelles in mammals. The red blood cells (together with endothelial vessel cells and other cells) are also marked by glycoproteins that define the different blood types. The proportion of blood occupied by red blood cells is referred to as the hematocrit, and is normally about 45%. The combined surface area of all red blood cells of the human body would be roughly 2,000 times as great as the body's exterior surface.
  • 4,000–11,000 leukocytes: White blood cells are part of the body's immune system; they destroy and remove old or aberrant cells and cellular debris, as well as attack infectious agents (pathogens) and foreign substances. The cancer of leukocytes is called leukemia.
  • 200,000–500,000 thrombocytes: Also called platelets, they take part in blood clotting (coagulation). Fibrin from the coagulation cascade creates a mesh over the platelet plug.
Constitution of normal blood
Parameter Value
Hematocrit

45 ± 7 (38–52%) for males
42 ± 5 (37–47%) for females

pH 7.35–7.45
base excess −3 to +3
PO2 10–13 kPa (80–100 mm Hg)
PCO2 4.8–5.8 kPa (35–45 mm Hg)
HCO3− 21–27 mM
Oxygen saturation

Oxygenated: 98–99%
Deoxygenated: 75%

Plasma

About 55% of blood is blood plasma, a fluid that is the blood's liquid medium, which by itself is straw-yellow in color. The blood plasma volume totals of 2.7–3.0 liters (2.8–3.2 quarts) in an average human. It is essentially an aqueous solution containing 92% water, 8% blood plasma proteins, and trace amounts of other materials. Plasma circulates dissolved nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids (dissolved in the blood or bound to plasma proteins), and removes waste products, such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid.

Other important components include:

  • Serum albumin
  • Blood-clotting factors (to facilitate coagulation)
  • Immunoglobulins (antibodies)
  • lipoprotein particles
  • Various other proteins
  • Various electrolytes (mainly sodium and chloride)

The term serum refers to plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed. Most of the proteins remaining are albumin and immunoglobulins.

pH values

Blood pH is regulated to stay within the narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45, making it slightly basic. Blood that has a pH below 7.35 is too acidic, whereas blood pH above 7.45 is too basic. Blood pH, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), and bicarbonate (HCO3−) are carefully regulated by a number of homeostatic mechanisms, which exert their influence principally through the respiratory system and the urinary system to control the acid-base balance and respiration. An arterial blood gas test measures these. Plasma also circulates hormones transmitting their messages to various tissues. The list of normal reference ranges for various blood electrolytes is extensive.

In non-mammalian vertebrates

Human blood is typical of that of mammals, although the precise details concerning cell numbers, size, protein structure, and so on, vary somewhat between species. In non-mammalian vertebrates, however, there are some key differences:

  • Red blood cells of non-mammalian vertebrates are flattened and ovoid in form, and retain their cell nuclei.
  • There is considerable variation in the types and proportions of white blood cells; for example, acidophils are generally more common than in humans.
  • Platelets are unique to mammals; in other vertebrates, small nucleated, spindle cells called thrombocytes are responsible for blood clotting instead.

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