Chapters authored
Human Blood
The human blood is composed of 3 layers of humors when separated into its different components. The component that is clear, slightly yellow (plasma), the whitish viscous-like (buffy coat) and the red fluid (red cells). The plasma component is composed of proteins; however, it will not be discussed in this chapter. The buffy coat is composed of white blood cells and platelets. The white blood cells are composed of granulocytes and agranulocytes; all of which take part in immune defense. The granulocytes, including monocytes have non-specific immune response while agranulocytes, which include B and T cells have specific immune response. The platelets function to help maintain normal hemostasis during vascular injury. Blood group antigens are found on the surface of red cells and are composed of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. They are mostly inherited on autosomes with the exception of two which have been found to be inherited on the X chromosomes. With the advance of technology, some of their physiological functional roles have been elucidated. These include; structural integrity, cationic exchange, transporters, adhesion and receptor functions, and cell to cell communication. However, these mechanisms have been capitalized by infectious agents to gain entry to the human body causing disease.
Part of the book: Blood Groups