Red Blood Cells
By Cadence Covey
A cell is the smallest structural and functional unit of an
organism. Every living thing is made up of cells and the
human body is made up of trillions of them. One
particular cell is the red blood cell. The red blood cell
helps carry fresh oxygen throughout your body and also
removes carbon dioxide from it and is an important role
to your health.
A red blood cell has three main functions which is
transportation, regulation and protection. This cell is the
most plentiful cell type in the human body. They are
made inside your bones, in the bone marrow. There is
extra room in the cell so that means there is more room
for Hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a red protein that is
responsible for transporting oxygen. It allows oxygen to
be transported around our body to organs and tissues. It
also allows carbon dioxide to be taken away.
Hemoglobin also contains iron, which when combined
with oxygen, gives blood that red color. When red blood
cells are produced in the bone marrow they have
nucleus. The nucleus is removed from the cell by a
process called enucleation. When a cell reaches
maturity, that is when enucleation sometimes occurs.
The red blood cell adapted by removing the nucleus to
enhance its role. When the nucleus gets removed more
hemoglobin its able to fill the space, and therefore carry
more oxygen molecules. The way hemoglobin carries
more oxygen is by its made up of four subunits, two
alpha and two beta subunits.
The red blood under a microscope
The subunits surround a central heme group (an
organic molecule with iron at its center.) That heme
group binds oxygen molecules and allows each
hemoglobin molecule to bind to four oxygen
molecules. The brighter red a heme group is means the
molecules have more oxygen.
The shape of a red blood cell is whats known as a
biconcave shape. The interior of a sphere is what both
sides of the cell look like, by curving inward. If the cell
had a nucleus that shape would not be possible, and the
shape of the red blood cell helps its ability to maneuver
through blood vessels. Red Blood cells typically live
for about 120 days and then die. When they die the
hemoglobin is broken up and the iron is rescued and
transported to the bone marrow. It is then used in the
production of new red blood cells.
Red blood cells are important, and making sure you
have the right diet to make sure you have enough iron
in your system is also important. Iron is important
because its apart of hemoglobin and hemoglobin is
apart of getting oxygen to your body. When you have
Anemia your blood lacks enough healthy red blood
cells and hemoglobin. When that happens that means
your organs arent getting enough oxygen and it can be
life threatening. Eating foods like leafy greens, lentil
beans, egg yolk and red meat will help you prevent
Anemia and lead you to a healthier lifestyle.
Diagram of the red blood cell