Question

What are the parts of red blood cells?

Answer 1

Hint: Blood is a type of special connective tissue which consists of plasma and fluid matrix. Plasma is the fluid matrix which constitutes about 55 percent of the blood. Formed elements have three types of cells that are RBC, WBC and platelets and constitute about 45 percent of the blood. All the cells perform different types of the functions in the blood.

Complete answer:
Red blood cells are also known as erythrocytes or red blood corpuscles. They are the most abundant blood cells.
Parts of red blood cells-
1) Cell membrane- The cell membrane of RBCs is composed of protein and lipid bilayer. They help in the flexibility of the cells. The cell membrane also helps in the diffusion of gases.
2) Cytoplasm- The cytoplasm of RBC contains an iron-bound protein known as haemoglobin which helps in the transport of gases from body cells to lungs and vice-versa. Haemoglobin gives blood its red color and enables it to carry oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to all body tissues. Oxygen is used by cells in the respiration process to produce energy that the body needs, leaving carbon dioxide as a waste product. Red blood cells carry carbon dioxide away from the tissues and back to the lungs.
The cytoplasm lacks any cell organelle to maximize the area for haemoglobin.
3) Nucleus- RBCs are devoid of nucleus in most mammals.

Note:
RBCs are formed in the red bone marrow in adults. A healthy adult man, on an average, has 5 to 5.5 million RBCs mm³ of blood. They have an average life span of 120 days after which they are destroyed in the spleen. A healthy individual has 12-16 gm of haemoglobin in every 100 ml of blood.