Slide 1
The components of the blood
and their jobs
Slide 2
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Platelets
Plasma
Breakdown products of digestion, such as glucose, fatty acids and amino acids
Dissolved mineral salts
Carbon dioxide
Urea
hormones
Slide 3
Plasma is the liquid part of the blood which carries everything else.
Plasma is a straw-yellow coloured liquid
If everything in plasma was removed, plasma would look like this
Slide 4
What do the different parts of blood look like under a microscope?
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Slide 5
They have a round, flat disc shape for a large surface area
They do not have a nucleus
They contain haemoglobin which combines with oxygen in areas of high concentration to form oxyhaemoglobin
Oxygen + haemoglobin oxyhaemoglobin
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the cells of the body for use in respiration
Slide 6
White blood cells help the body to fight invading bacteria
White blood cells will engulf and ingest invading bacteria
Slide 7
Other important jobs of the white blood cells:
They produce antibodies which can recognise and fight bacteria
They produce antitoxins which neutralise the toxins (poisons) that bacteria produce, which make us feel ill
Slide 8
Platelets are fragments of cells
The job of platelets is to help blood clot and form a scab
The platelets are involved in the formation of fibrin, which is needed for clotting blood
This is useful for stopping bleeding, and for preventing germs from entering the body through the cut
Slide 9
Summary of the composition of blood
Slide 10
Questions on the blood
What part of blood carries oxygen to cells?
Why are red blood cells flat disc-shaped?
What is the job of platelets?
What do white blood cells do?
Describe how a white blood cell carries out its job.