A blood cell, also called a haematocyte, is a cell produced by haematopoiesis and normally found in blood. In mammals, these fall into three general categories:
- Red blood cells – Erythrocytes
- White blood cells – Leukocytes
- Platelets – Thrombocytes.
Together, these three kinds of blood cells add up to a total 45% of the blood tissue by volume, with the remaining 55% of the volume composed of plasma, the liquid component of blood. This volume percentage (e.g., 45%) of cells to total volume is called hematocrit, determined by centrifuge or flow cytometry. Hemoglobin (the main component of red blood cells) is an iron-containing protein that facilitates transportation of oxygen and other respiratory gases to tissues.
Read more about Blood Cell: Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes), White Blood Cells (Leukocytes), Platelets (Thrombocytes), Complete Blood Count, Discovery
Famous quotes containing the words blood and/or cell:
“The man who fears war and squats opposing
My words for stour, hath no blood of crimson
But is fit only to rot in womanish peace”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)