CBC Grade 7 Notes in Kenya What are the Functions of Red Blood Cells?
CBC Grade 7 Notes in Kenya What are the Functions of Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are specialized cells that transport oxygen from the lungs to body tissues and carry carbon dioxide back to the lungs for exhalation. They achieve this using hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein that binds to gases, and they have a, biconcave shape allowing them to squeeze through tiny capillaries.
- Oxygen Transportation: Hemoglobin within the red blood cells picks up oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to tissues for energy production.
- Carbon Dioxide Removal: They collect carbon dioxide waste from tissues and transport it back to the lungs to be exhaled.
- Optimal Gas Exchange:
Their flexible, biconcave disc shape increases their surface area-to-volume ratio, allowing for faster oxygen absorption and release.
- Lifespan: Red blood cells live for about 120 days before being recycled by the spleen and liver.
- Production: They are produced in the red bone marrow, with roughly 2.4 million new cells generated per second.
- Structure: Mature red blood cells lack a nucleus and mitochondria to make more room for hemoglobin, allowing them to carry more oxygen.
- Hemoglobin: Each cell contains around 250 million hemoglobin molecules.
a) Red Blood Cells
They contain red pigments giving them the red color. They are disc-shaped and are smaller than the white blood cells because of their red pigments, they give the blood color.
Functions of Red Blood Cells
Main function of the red blood cell is to carry oxygen from the lungs to all other parts of the body. In them is chemical called hemoglobin which carries oxygen within the red blood cells. Oxygenated blood is the blood rich in oxygen and is bright. Blood with little or without oxygen is dull red and is said to be deoxygenated blood.
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