¿Cuáles son los componentes de la sangre y del sistema inmunitario?

By Hilde Schjerven, Ph.D.. All of us have a general idea about what blood is. The heart pumps it through our own body, and we want it to live. It’s used to swear eternal amistad. We use it to save lives. If we’re sick, the physician can test our blood to learn what’s wrong. But how do the blood reflect how we’re ill, and why is it so crucial to life?

Sangre

¿Cuáles son los componentes de la sangre? Si pierde demasiada sangre, por ejemplo en una herida o un accidente, puede poner en peligro su vida y necesitar una transfusión de sangre. Podemos donar hasta medio litro, es decir, aproximadamente el 10% de nuestro volumen total de sangre. buena salud, and time to descanso and recuperate afterwards.

Roughly half of the blood volume includes different blood cells, while the other half is blood plasma, the liquid that allows your blood to flow through your entire body. Every component in the bloodstream has their own important role, which is introduced in this report. Water is crucial for life. A human can survive for days and even weeks without food, but just a couple of days without water. The reason is that water is a source that constantly recycles.

Es bueno saberlo

We lose water from our body through urine and as evaporation from our skin through perspiration. Neither of these processes are something we can consciously control, but they’re important processes for temperature control in addition to eliminating waste products. On the other hand, our water consumption is under our control. We get water from what we drink, but also through meals.

La deshidratación leve puede provocar dolor de cabeza, sobrecalentamiento o mareospero no es potencialmente mortal en condiciones normales. En casos de deshidratación extrema, se puede obtener líquido mediante transfusiones intravenosas directas a la sangre. Además de proporcionar a la sangre su fluidez, para que las células sanguíneas puedan transportarse por todo el cuerpo, el agua también es fundamental como disolvente para el transporte de nutrientes y productos de desecho.

Tenga en cuenta

Minerals, vitamins, glucosa, and various forms of proteins, as well as the water, constitute the blood plasma. Although the colour of the blood is red, the colour of the blood plasma is in fact yellow. The red color proviene del gran número de glóbulos rojos, como se aclarará más adelante. El color amarillo del plasma sanguíneo procede de los numerosos componentes hidrosolubles, como nutrientes y diversas moléculas de señalización.

Factor portador

Furthermore, your blood is the carrier of different waste products, which are filtered out of the blood into the urine via the kidneys. Additionally, the blood comprises various proteins which have both structural as well as regulating or signaling functions. One kind of significant structural components are the coagulación factors that are needed for proper blood clotting. Insulina is a good example of signaling molecule. People suffering from diabetes must carefully monitor and adjust the glucose and insulin levels in their blood, to ensure a correct balance.

Las células de nuestra sangre se dividen en dos grandes tipos: Los glóbulos rojos y los glóbulos blancos. Además, existen fragmentos celulares especializados, llamados plaquetas, que derivan de un tipo particular de glóbulos blancos, los megacariocitos. Los glóbulos rojos (GR, también llamados eritrocitos) consumen aproximadamente el 45% de todo el volumen sanguíneo.

Hemoglobina

El color rojo se debe a las abundantes cantidades de la proteína hemoglobina, que une y transporta el oxígeno de los pulmones por todo nuestro cuerpo. Los glóbulos blancos son cruciales para nuestro sistema inmunitario, que a grandes rasgos puede dividirse en innato y adaptativo. El sistema inmunitario innato reconoce patrones asociados a patógenos y reacciona con rapidez ante las infecciones.

The adaptive immune cells recognize specific eptiopes, and may be educated to recognize epitopes associated with disease. The response of adaptive immune cells are slower, but the instruction contributes to a “memory” so that upon after experiences, we can quickly recognize and remove the threat. Vacunación relies on the capability of the adaptive immune system to recognize the pathogen and produce a protective “memory” or immunization. Lastly, the platelets, also called thrombocytes, aren’t cells, but instead cell fragments. They’re critical for blood coagulation, to make sure that upon a cut or damage to a blood vessel, the bleeding will stop.