What is the function of red blood cells

We often hear about red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets without having much idea of the task and importance that each of them has in the blood. Of course, all these elements are part of our body helping the proper functioning of the circulatory system and, consequently, our entire body. Blood cells are essential to ensure that all other cells and tissues are provided with nutrients and oxygen that allow them to survive. Then, in more depth on the subject and we explain what is the function of red blood cells .

What is blood?

Blood is a basic element to ensure the development and proper functioning of our body. Thanks to this liquid, all the necessary elements are transported so that our cells are oxygenated, nurtured, eliminate all toxins and all our organs and tissues function correctly.

Thus, we can define blood as tissue, in a liquid state, that connects the whole body to each other and works in the transport of nutrients and essential materials for our survival (such as oxygen) to all parts of our body, while collects waste (such as carbon dioxide) from tissues and cells to be able to eliminate them through the lungs. The blood also protects our body from infections and diseases that bacteria can cause.

Thanks to it, antibodies are produced that help us eliminate the germs and viruses that can be installed in us. And, as if that were not enough, blood also acts as a regulator, as it monitors and maintains our body temperature, manages water and salt levels and balances blood pressure.

In summary, the three basic functions of blood are transport, protection and regulation. For all these reasons, blood is, without a doubt, one of the most important and vital tissues of our body.

Composition of blood

But blood is not just a red and viscous liquid - called plasma -, there are also multiple elements that make up and give meaning to the goal of blood within our body, each with its own function.

To understand the composition of blood we must distinguish between two different parts: plasma, which is the liquid composed of 92% water and other essential elements such as enzymes, hormones, antibodies, nutrients, salts, proteins, gases ... and the blood cells that are in it. Specifically these are the blood cells that we will find in the plasma and, therefore, are part of the blood and represent 45% of the blood volume:

Red blood cells: also known as red blood cells or erythrocytes. The blood contains between 4 and 5 million red blood cells per mm3. Its main objective is to transport oxygen to the different tissues of the body.
Platelets: there are between 200, 000 and 400, 000 per mm3. They are small fragments of blood cells that are responsible for forming blood clots that will help us heal wounds and prevent bleeding. They are produced by the bone marrow.
White blood cells: also known as leukocytes. The blood counts between 6, 000 and 9, 000 white blood cells per mm3. We can differentiate between several leukocytes and each one has a specific function within the defense of our organism.

Functions of red blood cells

Red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, red cells or red blood cells, are a part of the basic blood cells that coexist in the plasma. They are composed of globulin and hemoglobin, that is, a molecular structure, whose main functions are:

Transport oxygen to the different tissues of the body
Collect carbon dioxide in order to eliminate toxic waste

This type of cells, in addition, give the red color to the blood since they do not have nucleus and their cytoplasm is formed of hemoglobin, which gives color to the globule and the blood. Like white blood cells, which work in the defense of our body, red blood cells also have their origin in the bone marrow. Visually, we could determine that they are red cells similar to biconcave (oval) discs without nucleus and that they measure about 0.007 mm in diameter.

As we have pointed out above, in our blood between 4 and 5 million red blood cells per cubic millimeter, which live only 120 days and are eliminated through the release of bilirubin. The hematopoeic tissue of the bone marrow is responsible for producing millions of red blood cells day after day so that our blood always has authentic carriers that can perform the work of feeding and oxygenate all the cells of our body, to keep us healthy.

Diseases that affect red blood cells

Among the diseases of the blood, there are some that directly involve red blood cells. One of them is anemia, because it is characterized by the lack of oxygen in our cells that causes the decrease of red blood cells in the blood or the low concentration of hemoglobin in these blood cells.

Among the most known anemias, iron deficiency anemia, or iron deficiency anemia, stands out. This disease occurs when iron consumption decreases or the body absorbs it in less quantity, which leads to a reduction in the production of hemoglobin, since it is basically made up of iron. But there are other types of anemia and all of them are related to the deficit of red blood cells (pernicious anemia, hemolytic anemia ...).

Other diseases that involve red blood cells are polycythemia, caused by an increase in red blood cells, talsemia, a genetic disorder caused by a change in the amount of hemoglobin production, or the malaria parasite, which largely passes of its life cycle in the red cells and feeds on hemoglobin.