Blood

Recently, we started talking about the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system includes three components. Those three components are blood, the heart and blood vessels. Blood is a connective tissue that has a liquid portion called plasma and a cellular portion that consists of many cells and cell fragments. Blood is the life maintaining fluid that circulates throughout the body’s heart, arteries, veins and capillaries. While circulating throughout the body, the blood carries difference substances. Some of these substances include nourishment, hormones and antibodies. While those substances are being carried to the body, waste matter and carbon dioxide are carried by blood out of the body. Oxygen and nutrients that are being transported by the blood diffuse into the interstitial fluid ( the fluid found between body cells ).
Blood has three main functions. Those three functions are transportation, regulation and protection.
Transportation:: Blood transports different substance throughout the body. It moves oxygen from the lungs to the cells throughout the body and it carries carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs. Oxygen and carbon are not the only substances that are carried by blood. It is also responsible for carrying substances from the gastrointestinal tract to cells and at the same time it moves heat and waste products away from cells. It also moves hormones from endocrine glands to other cells.
Regulation:: Blood circulating helps to maintain homeostasis in all body fluids. Blood helps to maintain body temperature. This is with the help of the heat absorbing and coolant properties of the water in the blood.
Protection:: The blood has the ability to clot when there is an injury. This can be helpful in a way because it protects the body from losing too much blood. Also, white blood cells help to protect against disease by carrying phagocytes. Along with phagocytes, blood proteins such as antibodies, interferons can help to protect against disease as well.
Blood is stickier than water and also more dense. The temperature of blood is typically 30 degrees celsius. Blood counts for about 8 percent of body weight. In an average sized male there is about 5 to 6 liters of blood. In an average adult woman there is about 4 to5 liters.
Blood contains blood plasma, which is a watery liquid. This liquid is composed of dissolved substances. Blood also has formed elements. These elements are cells and cell fragments.
Blood plasma is a straw colored liquid that is about 91.5 percent water, 7 percent proteins and 1.5 percent solutes, that are not proteins. Plasma proteins are proteins in the blood. The most plentiful plasma proteins are the albiums. (about 54 percent of all plasma proteins)