Red Blood Cells

ERYTHROCYTES
Function:
Transport O2 (98,5 %)
Transport CO2
Buffer through:
Glycolytic enzyme
carbonic anhydrase enzyme

 Shape and Size :

Biconcave disc 7,8 m, a thickness of 2,5

m, + 1 m in the center
Volume 90 95 m3

Average number RBCs :

Men
Women

: 5.200.000/mm3 (+ 300.000/mm3)
: 4.700.000/mm3 (+ 300.000/mm3)

Concentration Hb :
Men
Women

15 gram/dl or 15 gr/100 ml
14 gram/dl or 14 gr/100 ml
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PRODUCT RBC
Embryonic

yolk sac

Trimester II

liver
spleen
lymphnodes

Last month of gestation

After birth
Bone marrow

Relative rates of red blood cell production in the

bone marrow of different bones at different ages

Stages of differentiation of Red Blood Cells

Stages of differentiation of Red

Blood Cells

Regulation of Red Blood Cells

Production

The total mass of red blood cells in the

circulatory system is regulated within
narrow limits, so that :
1. An adequate number of red cells is
always available to provide sufficient
transport of oxygen from the lungs to the
tissue
2. The cells do not become so numerous
that they impede blood flow
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1. Tissue oxygenation is the most essential

regulator of Red Blood Cell Production
Tissue O2
product RBC
e.g:
Anemia : - hemorrhage
- x-ray therapy
High altitude (O2)
O2 transport
product RBC
Various disease of the circulation that
cause decreased blood flow through the
peripheral vessels
e.g :- Heart Failure
- Lung disease
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2. Erythropoietin stimulates red cell production

The principal stimulus for red blood cell
production in low oxygen states is a
circulating hormone called erythropoietin (a
glycoprotein with a molecular weight of about
34.000)
In the normal person, about 90 per cent of all
erythropoietin is formed in the kidneys; the
remainder is formed mainly in the liver.
Erythropoietin secretion by the renal tubular
epithelial cells
The important effect of erythropoietin is to
stimulate the production of proerythroblast
from hematopoeitic stem cells in the bone
marrow
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Erythropoiesis is controlled by erythropoietin from the kidneys

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 In the absence of erythropoietin, few red

blood cells are formed by the bone marrow.
At the other extreme, when large quantities of
erythropoietin are formed available, and if
there is plenty of iron and other required
nutrients available, the rate of red blood cells
production can rise to perhaps 10 or more
times normal

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