Science is and will always be a wonderful course for me and the reason is because of it's relativity.
Everything you hear about science can be replicated with the appropriate procedures. But that's story for another day, however, still on the relativity, let's talk about BLOOD.
Hehehe, I know most persons are scared of science because of this singular reason; "I don't want to see blood , I will faint when I see blood"
Well, the good thing is that you are not going to see it here, not in this post, heheh, but I just want to equip you with basic blood knowledge.
What Do You Know About Blood?
Blood is the red fluid that circulates through the body making sure that every organ gets oxygen to stay alive and also ensuring no organ dies out of toxic substances as it removes them.
Humans have about 4-6litres of blood in their body.
Why Is Blood Red?
Blood is made up of Hemoglobin. This comprises a protein part, "Globin" and an iron part, "Heme."
When the iron content of the blood binds to oxygen, it gives the blood it's reddish colour.
Blood looks like a single reddish fluid, however, there are many parts of it which includes:
- Red Blood Cells:
This is also called the Erythrocytes. It is the part of the blood that is responsible for carrying the oxygen for tissue perfusion in the body and also ensures that carbon dioxide are brought back to the lungs to be breathed out.
When Red Blood Cells are low, it results in the medical condition called Anaemia.
This is a serious health condition that puts a stretch on the heart as it tries to compensate for the reduction in the red blood cells making them beat faster to ensure adequate circulation.
- The White Blood Cells:
This is the part of blood also called the Leukocytes.
They are incharge of fighting microorganisms and infections that attack the body.
They are further divided into what we call DIFFERENTIALS.
A rise in each of the DIFFERENTIALS signals you to the particular micro organisms you might be dealing with at that particular point in time which guides you as to which drugs you will likely treat with.....
Neutrophils: A rise in this differential tells you it's likely a Bacterial infection.
Lymphocytes: A rise in this differential tells you it's likely a Viral infection.
Eosinophils: A rise in this differential points out to parasitic infections and allergic reactions.
Monocytes: A rise in this differential points to Malaria infection.
Reduction in White blood cells component of the blood leads to a condition called Leukopenia.
This is a serious health condition as It exposes one to various infections including opportunistic infections as there is nothing to fight them off.
- The Platelets:
This is also called the Thrombocytes. They are the part of the blood that are responsible for making sure we don't bleed out and die. A term we call Hemostasis.
Thrombocytopenia is the medical condition for when they are low and like you can guess, it predisposes someone to prolonged bleeding and easy bruising.
In summary, understanding the roles each and every component of these blood aspects play In our body helps you as an individual too and not just the doctor.
I hope you learnt something today about blood or probably I refreshed your memory on what you already knew?
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Thanks for reading and have a nice day ahead 👍