• Question: what are all the blood cells called

    Asked by ktho2222 to Matt on 12 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Matthew Tomlinson

      Matthew Tomlinson answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hi ktho2222

      There are quite a lot of different cells in the blood, the most common by a long way are red blood cells, also called erythrocytes, these make up about 25% of everybody. These carry oxygen around the body and contain the haemoglobin that give blood its red colour. After that there are platelets which are small, sticky cells that help the blood to clot when you have a cut. Then there are the white blood cells, these make up the immune system and prevent infection from bacteria, fungi and viruses. There are lots of different white blood cell types; lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, monocytes and macrophages. All are involved in the immune response in some way which can be either recognising an infection, killing the infectious organism or removing the what’s left after the infection has been cleared. These cells all come from stem cells called haematopoietic stem cells and they are in the bone marrow of long bones like the arm and leg bones.

      I hope that answers your question, if you want any more detail let me know!

Comments

  • Photo: ktho2222

    ktho2222 commented on :

    thank you i already knew that. I learnt it yesterday.

  • Photo: tashfeen

    tashfeen commented on :

    I DONT UNDERSTAND you Matt Because its tooooooo Sciencey the words are really confusing could you explain in easier words
    ;0

  • Photo: Matt

    Matt commented on :

    Sorry if I wasn’t being clear tashfeen. There are basically four things in your blood: red blood cells which carry the oxygen you breathe, white blood cells which fight infections, platelets which stop you bleeding and plasma, which is the liquid the cells are in. The white blood cells are the most complicated because there are a lot of different types, in fact a lot of people who work on them can’t agree how many there really are!

    Hope that clears it up!