STWS Home STWS Home  Intro. | Anatomy | Abstracting, Coding, & Staging | Treatment | Exercise || Go to Lymphoma ||
 Introduction to Blood   Print Search Glossary Help
Introduction to Blood | Composition of the Blood | Blood Cell Lineage | Unit Review and Quiz |

Blood is one of the connective_tissues. As a connective tissue, it consists of cells and cell fragments (formed elements) suspended in an intercellular matrix (plasma). Blood is the only liquid tissue in the body that measures about 5 liters in the adult human and accounts for 8 percent of the body weight.

The body consists of metabolically active cells that need a continuous supply of nutrients and oxygen. Metabolic waste products need to be removed from the cells to maintain a stable cellular environment. Blood is the primary transport medium that is responsible for meeting these cellular demands.

Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow, the soft, spongy center of bones. New (immature) blood cells are called blasts. Some blasts stay in the marrow to mature. Some travel to other parts of the body to mature.

The activities of the blood may be categorized as transportation, regulation, and protection.

These functional categories overlap and interact as the blood carries out its role in providing suitable conditions for celluar functions.

The transport functions include:

The regulation functions include:

The protection functions include:

Go to top