Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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semiliquid material is known as pus. Eosinophils, also known as acidophils show red staining granules
in the cytoplasm. These cells, which normally are scarce, increase in number in certain chronic
diseases, such as infection with parasites. Basophils, which are blue staining granules, are also rare in
normal blood. They contain heparin and may be involved in preventing blood from clotting in areas of
inflammation. They also contain some histamine and may possibly be the precursors of mast cells.
Lymphocytes are important in the process of immunity, producing antibodies in response to
antigens. Monocytes possess a relatively large amount of cytoplasm and function as phagocytes,
becoming transformed into macrophages after invading infected sites, where numbers reach a peak in
48 hours.
Many diseases are characterized by a change in the number of circulating leukocytes. An increase
in the wbc count, generally indicating an acute infection, is called leukocytosis. Leukopenia, a
reduction in the number of wbc occurs occasionally in viral diseases. Leukemia is characterized by
uncontrolled proliferation of leukocytes which generally resemble immature cells and are usually non-
functional.
Thrombocytes. Platelets or thrombocytes are cytoplasmic fragments of giant, multinucleated red
blood cells called megakaryocytes and play an important role in hemostasis, the process of blood
clotting. Platelets function chiefly to reduce loss of blood from injured vessels. Platelets clump
together to form a plug in the initial phase of controlling bleeding. Clumping is followed by the
retraction of platelet pseudopods with enmeshed fibrin and blood cells to produce hard clot. A
deficiency in platelets causes a tendency to bleed.
Plasma. Blood plasma is a straw colored liquid composed of about 90% water and about 10%
chemical compounds, mainly proteins. Plasma can only be maintained if an anticoagulant is added to
keep coagulation from occurring. After coagulation, the fibrinogen separates from plasma, leaving
serum. The four major plasma proteins are albumin, globulin, fibrinogen, and prothrombin.
Blood Groupings. The safe administration of blood from donor to recipient requires typing and
cross-matching. These procedures are necessary since a patient receiving blood incompatible with his
own blood can experience a serious or fatal reaction. The system of classification is based on the
presence of specific antigens (agglutinogens) in the red blood cells and the presence of antibodies
(agglutinins) that react to the antigens.
ABO Groupings. Blood groups are named for the antigens present in the blood. In each case, the
blood contains antibodies to antigens not present in the recipient’s blood. Thus, individuals with
type A blood cannot receive blood from blood type B and AB individuals; type B individuals
cannot receive blood from type A or AB individuals; type O individuals cannot accept blood from
type A, B, or AB individuals; and type AB individuals can accept from all the other blood types.
Individuals with type AB blood are universal recipients and those with type O blood are universal
donors.
Blood Antigen Antibody Can give Can receive
type present present blood to blood from
A A Anti-B A, AB A, O
B B Anti-A B, AB B, O
O - Anti-A, Anti-B A, B, O, AB O
AB AB - AB A, B, O, AB
Table 10.1. Compatibility between the different blood types.
Rh Factor. The Rh factor was first found in the blood of the rhesus monkey. It is a system
consisting of at least 8 antigens. Reaction to one of the antigens determines whether a person is Rh
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positive or negative. The antigen is usually designated as “D”. This classification is most
significant in the condition erythroblastosis fetalis wherein a mother is Rh negative while her
child (particularly a second child) is Rh positive.
The Heart
The heart is a four-chambered, hollow, muscular organ lying between the lungs in the middle
mediastinum. The pericardium is the sac enclosing the heart. It is an invaginated sac consisting of an
external fibrous coat and an internal serous membrane.
The outer, or parietal, layer of the serous membrane (parietal pericardium) lines the fibrous coat.
The inner, or visceral, layer of the serous membrane (visceral pericardium) adheres to the heart and
becomes the outermost layer of the heart, the epicardium. The wall of the heart consists of three
distinct layers: The epicardium (external layer), the myocardium (middle muscular layer), and the
endocardium (inner layer of endothelium).
The heart is divided into the right and left halves, each half divided into two chambers, the atria
(upper chamber), and the ventricle (lower chamber). The atria are separated by the intra-atrial septum,
while the ventricles are separated by the intra-ventricular septum. The atria serve as receiving
chambers from the lungs and various parts of the body and pump blood into the ventricles. The
ventricles, in turn, pump blood to the lungs and the remainder of the body. The primary function of the
Fig. 10.1. The heart and its parts.
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heart is to serve as a muscular pump propelling blood into and through vessels to and from all parts of
the body. There are two types of valves located in the heart. The atrio-ventricular valves (the tricuspid
valve on the right and the bicuspid (mitral) valve on the left), and the semilunar valves (the pulmonary
and the aortic valves).
The Blood Vessels
The blood vessels consist of a closed system of tubes functioning to transport blood to all parts of
then body and back to the heart. Arteries transport blood to various body tissues under high pressure
exerted by the pumping action of the heart. Arterioles, the last branches of the arterial system, act as
control valves through which blood is released into the capillaries. The focal point of the entire
cardiovascular system is the network of about 10 billion microscopic capillaries functioning to provide
a method whereby fluids, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and wastes are exchanged between the
blood and interstitial spaces. Veins function to conduct blood from the body tissues to the heart.
Two Closed Circuits of the Circulatory System
Fig. 10.2. Blood circulation.
The circulatory system has two closed circuits: the pulmonary circulation,
carrying blood from the right ventricle to the respiratory surfaces of the lungs and
back to the left atrium, and the systemic circulation, carrying blood from the left ventricle to the
remaining parts of the body and back to the right atrium.
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