Blood is important for regulation of the body’* pH, temperature, osmotic pressure, the circulation of nutrients and removal of waste, the distribution of hormones from endocrine glands, and the elimination of excess heat; it also contains components for blood clotting. Blood is made of several components, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and the plasma, which contains coagulation factors and serum.
Blood consists of two main components:
- Plasma
- Formed elements or corpuscles.
Plasma: Plasma constitutes almost 55% of blood. Plasma is a pale yellowish, watery substance that surrounds blood cells and carries them around the body.Plasma is a combination or mixture of nutrients, gases, proteins, hormones, salts, and wastes.
Functions of blood plasma
- Plasma helps to regulate body temperature and maintains blood pressure.
- Transportation of nutrients is one of the major functions of blood plasma. When a food is digested, it breaks down into amino acids, sugars, lipids and fatty acids. These are transported throughout the body by plasma.
- Plasma also transports wastes like uric acids, ammonium salts etc., to kidneys, where it filters wastes from plasma and excretes it through *****.
- Plasma also supplies required proteins for blood clot and immunity.
Formed Elements or Corpuscles
Formed particles or corpuscles consists of
- Erythrocytes or Red blood cells
- Leucocytes or White blood cells
