Dr. Nishant Chakravorty: Basic Human Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology

BASIC HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY
AND PATHOLOGY
Dr. Nishant Chakravorty
email: [email protected]
Lecture 2
Blood
Blood is a bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances
such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports
metabolic waste products away from those same cells. It
also has a major role in the body’s defense against
infection. Blood also contains clotting agents.
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/blood1-091209103525-phpapp02/95/blood1-4-728.jpg?cb=1260355024
Components
http://www.americasblood.org/about-blood/what-is-blood.aspx
http://www.americasblood.org/about-blood/what-is-blood.aspx
Bone marrow
• Soft, gelatinous tissue that fills the medullary cavities
• Two types of bone marrow:

– Red bone marrow (also known as myeloid tissue)
– Yellow bone marrow (fatty tissue)
• Highly vascular and enriched with numerous blood vessels and

capillaries
• The bone marrow makes more than 200 billion new blood cells
every day
• Most blood cells in the body develop from cells in the bone marrow
A femoral head with a cortex of cortical bone and medulla of trabecular bone
Illustration from Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/

Bone marrow harvest in progress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow#/media/File:Bone_marrow_biopsy.jpg
Some important functions of blood
• It supplies oxygen to cells and tissues
• It supplies essential nutrients to cells, such as amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose
• It removes carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid (waste products)
• White blood cells defend us from infection and foreign bodies
• Platelets help the blood to clot (coagulate) when we are bleeding
• It transports hormones - chemicals released by a cell in one part of the body that sends
out messages that affect cells elsewhere in the body
• It regulates our acidity (pH) levels
• It regulates our body temperature

Plasma
Liquid part of blood
– Pale yellow: ~ 91% water
– Colloid: Liquid containing suspended
substances that don’t settle out
– Albumin: Important in regulation of water
movement between tissues and blood
– Globulins: Immune system or transport
molecules
– Fibrinogen: Responsible for formation of blood
clots
19-12
Red Blood Corpuscles (Erythrocytes)
Erythrocytes
• Structure
– Biconcave, anucleate
• Contains Hemoglobin
• Function
– Transport oxygen from
lungs to tissues and
carbon dioxide from
tissues to lungs
19-14
RBC Parameters
Hematocrit and Red cell count

Red Cell Indices
1. Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
2. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin
(MCH)
3. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin
Concentration (MCHC)
Hematocrit (Hct)
• When anticoagulated whole blood is centrifuged, the space
occupied by the packed red blood cells.
• Normal range : 42~52% for men Capillary tube
36~46% for women

Plasma
Buffy coat
Red blood cells

Buffy Coat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_coat#/media/File:Blood-centrifugation-scheme.png
Buffy Coat
Fraction of an anticoagulated blood

sample that contains most of the white
blood cells and platelets following
density gradient centrifugation of the
blood
Diagnostic uses of the buffy coat
1. Quantitative buffy coat (QBC) is a laboratory test to detect infection with malaria or
other blood parasites
The blood is taken in a QBC capillary tube which is coated with acridine orange
(a fluorescent dye) and centrifuged
↓
The fluorescing parasites can then be observed under Ultraviolet light at the
interface between red blood cells and buffy coat
↓
This test is more sensitive than the conventional thick smear and in > 90% of
cases the species of parasite can also be identified
2. Blood smear from buffy coat:

Done in very low white blood cell count conditions (difficult to perform ` a
manual/ automated differential count)
Smear contains a much higher number of white blood cells than whole
blood
3. To extract DNA from the blood of mammals: Analysis of diseases/ conditions

Red blood cell count
• The red blood cells count (RBC) is the number of red blood
cells in 1 μl of whole blood.
• Normal range :
4.2~5.4 million / μl for men
3.6~5.0 million / μl for women
RBC Indices
• Part of the complete blood count (CBC) test
• Used to help diagnose the cause of anemia
• The indices include:

– Average red blood cell size (MCV)
– Hemoglobin amount per red blood cell (MCH)
– The amount of hemoglobin relative to the size of the
cell (hemoglobin concentration) per red blood cell
(MCHC)
Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
• The MCV indicates the average volume of the red blood cells.
Volume of RBC in femtoliters (fl) / μl of blood

• MCV = 1 μl = 109 fl
RBC / μl of blood
• Normal value for the MCV : 80 to 100 fl

• If the MCV is less than 80 fl, the RBCs are microcytic. If the MCV is greater than
100 fl, the RBCs are macrocytic. If the MCV is within the normal range, the RBCs
are normocytic.
http://watcut.uwaterloo.ca/webnotes/Metabolism/graphics/microcytic-anemia-pic-e600f.jpg
http://watcut.uwaterloo.ca/webnotes/Metabolism/graphics/pernicious-pic-ff73b.jpg
Hypochromic Hyperchromic
Macrocytic Microcytic
Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)
• Average mass of hemoglobin per red blood cell in a sample of

blood
Weight of hemoglobin in 1 μl of blood
• MCH = Number of red blood cells in 1 μl of blood
1 g = 1012 pg
1 ml = 103 μl
• Normal value for the MCH : 27~31 pg/cell
• An MCH lower than 27 pg is found in microcytic anemia and also with

normocytic, hypochromic RBCs. An elevated MCH occurs in macrocytic
anemia and in some cases of spherocytosis in which hyperchromia may be
present.
Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration
(MCHC)
• The MCHC is an expression of the average concentration of
hemoglobin in a given volume of packed red blood cells
• It gives the ratio of the weight of hemoglobin to the volume of the
red blood cells.
Hemoglobin in g/dl
• MCHC = * 100 (to convert to %)
Hematocrit /dl
= Hemoglobin * 100 %
Hematocrit
• Normal value for the MCHC : 32~36 g/dl
• MCHC <32% indicates hypochromia, an MCHC >36% indicates

hyperchromia, and red blood cells with a normal MCHC are termed
normochromic.
What is Anemia?
• Anaemia is a condition in which the number of
red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying
capacity is insufficient to meet physiologic
needs, which vary by age, sex, altitude,
smoking, and pregnancy status.
(http://www.who.int/topics/anaemia/en/)
• The normal range for hemoglobin is:

• For men, 13.5 to 17.5 grams per deciliter
• For women, 12.0 to 15.5 grams per deciliter
• Normal ranges for children vary with age and sex. The range for a normal hemoglobin level
may differ from one medical practice to another.
Symptoms of Anemia
Normal or High Hemoglobin/Hematocrit
Check other
Causes of symptoms
e.g. Cardiac Low
Pulmonary RBC indices
MCV < 80 MCV=80-96 MCV > 100

MCHC < 32
History of acute blood loss
Auto immune Hemolytic anemia
B12 and folate
Serum iron and Total
Iron binding capacity Anemia of chronic Diseases levels
of Ferritin Anemia of infection
Low Iron Normal High Iron Low B12 Low folate High or Normal
IDA, chronic Hb BM exam PA, GI Folate MPD

diseases, Renal electrophoresi For problems malnutrition Liver Disease
diseases s for Thala. Sideroblastic Severe GI problems
anemia malnutrition. Liver disease

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BASIC HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY

Dr. Nishant Chakravorty

• Two types of bone marrow:

• Highly vascular and enriched with numerous blood vessels and

Illustration from Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/

• It supplies oxygen to cells and tissues

• It removes carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid (waste products)

• White blood cells defend us from infection and foreign bodies

• Platelets help the blood to clot (coagulate) when we are bleeding

• It regulates our acidity (pH) levels

• It regulates our body temperature

Hematocrit and Red cell count

• Normal range : 42~52% for men Capillary tube

36~46% for women

Red blood cells

Fraction of an anticoagulated blood

2. Blood smear from buffy coat:

3. To extract DNA from the blood of mammals: Analysis of diseases/ conditions

• Used to help diagnose the cause of anemia

• The indices include:

Volume of RBC in femtoliters (fl) / μl of blood

• Normal value for the MCV : 80 to 100 fl

• Average mass of hemoglobin per red blood cell in a sample of

• Normal value for the MCH : 27~31 pg/cell

• An MCH lower than 27 pg is found in microcytic anemia and also with

• MCHC <32% indicates hypochromia, an MCHC >36% indicates

• The normal range for hemoglobin is:

Normal or High Hemoglobin/Hematocrit

MCV < 80 MCV=80-96 MCV > 100

IDA, chronic Hb BM exam PA, GI Folate MPD

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