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Cell differentiation
Blood cells
Blood has a number of cell types in order to provide the different functions of blood. As well as carrying oxygen to the tissues, blood is responsible for the body's defence mechanism, and for clotting in response to injury.
Erythrocytes.
The red blood cells, derived from the bone marrow, are highly specialised.
During the course of maturation
they lose their nucleus, so most of the
internal space can be packed with the oxygen carrying protein - hæmoglobin.
In addition, the cells have a characteristic biconcave shape: this ensures
a large surface area for diffusion. Also, the distance the oxygen has to
diffuse from the plasma to anywhere inside the cell is small. Erythrocytes
also contain substantial amounts of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. This
is important in carbon dioxide transport from the tissues to the lungs:
it speeds up the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid in the cells
(this then dissociates into hydrogen ions - taken up by the hæmoglobin
- and bicarbonate).
Leucocytes.
The white blood cells are vital in preventing and controlling infection.
This is a diverse group of cell types, each responsible for a different
aspect of fighting and preventing infection and tissue damage. They are
usually classified according to their morphological characteristics.
The granulocytes:
They contain abundant granules in their cytoplasm. They are also known
as polymorphonuclear cells, because of their lobed nuclei. The different types of granulocytes are called:
- neutrophils (72% of white cells),
- eosinophils (1.5%),
- and basophils (0.5%).
The agranulocytes:
They have a clear cytoplasm. Also known as mononuclear leukocytes. These
are the
- monocytes (4%)
- and lymphocytes (24%).
The tissue macrophages, which are active phagocytes, are probably derived
from the monocytes, and have become resident in connective tissue.
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