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Red Blood Cells | Cell Structure Assignment | A&P 12
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Red Blood Cell Structure
A&P 12
Function of Red Blood Cells
What is their function?
Red blood cells' primary function is to circulate oxygen throughout the body. They do this by transporting a protein called hemoglobin and dispersing it to tissues and systems throughout the body.
The cell structure of red blood cells is very different from many other cells because of this special function
Prominent Organelles
cytoplasm
cell membrane
hemoglobin
Red blood cells have very few organelles. The two prominent ones are the cell membrane and the cytoplasm. There are very few organelles in red blood cells in order to allow them to more easily fit through very small spaces when moving around the body.
The cell membrane is the only organelle found within a red blood cell, aside from a basic cytoskeleton and cilia.
Cell Membrane
The purpose of the cell membrane is to seperate the intercellular molecules from extracellular molecules, as well as to filter what enters and leaves the cell. It takes in molecules that are essential to the cell's function and releases waste and other molecules.
In red blood cells, membranes act differently, as there are no organelles that require molecules to enter or leave the cell. Instead, the cell membrane primarly channels hemoglobin, carbon dioxide and oxygen in and out.
Membranes are very flexible in red blood cells to allow them to move through narrow capillaries. Additionally, they can attatch to other cells and can interact with cells that are apart of the immune system.
Cell Membrane
Cilia
Cilia on the Cell Membrane
As an extracellular organelle, the cilia are very important to the function of the red blood cell. These hair-like structures are responsible for locomotion and move the cell around the body.
Cytoplasm & Hemoglobin
Cytoplasm
While the cytoplasm of red blood cells does not hold any organelles, it does hold a very important protein: hemoglobin. Hemoglobin makes up 96% of the nonwater components of a red blood cell (by weight).
Hemoglobin is able to carry much more oxygen than the body would be able to transport through just what is dissolved in blood (almost seven times as much) and also plays an important role in relocating carbon dioxide within the respitory system (moving as much as 25% of all carbon dioxide). This protein is responsible for circulating oxygen.
Red Blood Cell
cell membrane
What Organelles are Missing?
cytoplasm
Regular Cell
What organelles are missing?
Most notably, red blood cells do not have nuclei in order to reduce the overall volume of the cell and allow it to fit through narrow capillaries as it moves around the body. Other organelles red blood cells do not have include:
- ribosomes -golgi apparatus
- lysosomes -vacuoles
- vesticles -peroxisomes
- mitochondria
- smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulums
RBC's primary function is to transport hemoglobin throughout the body, therefore these organelles are not apart of the cell in order to make this easier by allowing for a smaller cell. Also, due to these cells having shorter lifespans (up to 120 days), these organelles are not necessary to maintain the health of the cell or produce new cells as they are made in bone marrow and expell their organelles very early on in their development.
Bibliography
Bibliograhy
Beddoes, T., & Watt, J. (n.d.). Hemoglobin. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin
Home. (2018, December 5). YouTube. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FRuixue-Zhu%2Fpublication%2F339531445%2Ffigure%2Ffig12%2FAS%3A863169761255437%401582807116918%2Fa-RBC-visualization-by-SEM-reveals-discrete-cilia-on-the-cell-surface-b-Enlar
Home. (2018, December 5). YouTube. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstock.adobe.com%2Fsearch%3Fk%3Danimal%2Bcell%2Bdiagram&psig=AOvVaw10fgLXNUSAuUztoxoTDSO9&ust=1664493307003000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCLCh-qC8uvoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Home. (2018, December 5). YouTube. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vectorstock.com%2Froyalty-free-vector%2Fstructure-of-the-red-blood-cell-erythrocyte-vector-6895981&psig=AOvVaw1KcKReTVwX2fpAS85IcwwE&ust=1664557036764000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCKCC_Ki8uv
Importance of Red Blood Cells | Red Cross Blood Services. (n.d.). Red Cross Blood Donation. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/red-blood-cells.html
Red blood cell. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_blood_cell
Red Blood Cells: Function & Role. (2021, November 8). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21691-function-of-red-blood-cells