Blood Unit Practice Questions
What is the difference between an antigen and an antibody?
An antigen is a substance foreign to the body which activates and is attacked by the immune system. An antibody is a protein released by immune cells that binds with a specific antigen and inactivates it in some way.
Little Lisa is pale and listless. What disorder of erythrocytes might she be suffering from?
Anemia.
What are the three major categories of formed elements?
Erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets.
How does fetal hemoglobin differ from that of the adult?
Fetal HbF has a greater ability to bind oxygen and binds it more strongly than adult HbF.
What is the role of hemoglobin in the red blood cell?
Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the blood as well as a small amount of carbon dioxide.
If you had a severe infection, would you expect your WBC to be closest to 5000, 10,000, or 15,000 per cubic millimeter?
INfection in the body causes an increase in WBC count, thus 15,000 per cubic millimeter.
What factors enhancethe risk of thrombus formation in intact blood vessels?
Inactivity, leading to blood poooling, and anything that roughens or damages the lining of a blood vessel (laceration, atherosclerosis, physical trauma).
What property of RBCs dooms them to a limited life span of about 120 days?
Lack of a nucleus, therefore they cannot carry out transcription and translation to produce proteins (enzymes and others).
What blood-related disorders are particularily common in the elderly?
Leukemia, pernicious anemia, and clotting disorders are particularly more common in the elderly.
Which white blood cells are most important in body immunity?
Lymphocytes are the main actors in the blood as well as a small amount of carbon dioxide.
Cary is bleeding profusely after being hit by a truck as he was pedaling his bike home. At the hospital, the nurse asked him whether he knew his blood type. He told her that he "had the same type of blood as most other people." What is his ABO blood type?
O positive.
What determines whether blood id bright red (scarlet) or dull red?
The color of blood varies with the amount of oxygen it is carrying. From most oxygen to least, blood goes from scarlet, to blue-red.
What is the name of the stem cell that gives rise to all formed elements?
The hemocytoblast gives rise to all formed elements.
Which body organ plays the major role in producing blood proteins?
The liver is the major source of blood proteins.
What are the classes of human blod groups based on?
The self antigens (agglutinogens) the RBCs bear.
How is the production of platelets different from that of all other formed elements?
The stem cell (megakeryocyte) undergoes mitosis withoutcytokinesis, many times, forming a large multinuclear cell, which then fragments into platelets.
What is the probable result from infusion of mismatched blood?
A transfusion reaction in which the RBCs are lysed and hemoglobin enters the blood stream, which may lead to kidney shutdown.
