Red+Blood+Cells+-+SN

Did you know that red blood cells are shaped like donuts that you buy at Dunkin Donuts? Red blood cells are also like schools of fish that move in a group. Red blood cells help carry oxygen, to your lungs, heart and brain. Without red blood cells you wouldn't be able to have energy or breathe.
 * Introduction.**

=How Red Blood Cells Affect The Body.= Blood is made up of four parts. They are **Plasma**, red blood cells, **White Blood Cells**, and **Platelets.** Without red blood cells your body wouldn't be able to carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Oxygen is important to your body because every single cell in your body needs oxygen to survive. Red blood cells carry that oxygen throughout.

Our blood is constantly flowing through our body. It flows in a loop and takes under a minute from start to finish. Sometimes the blood flow has a lot of oxygen. That is when blood is on its way to delivering the oxygen to our body cells. This blood is a bright red color. Other times blood flow has little oxygen and that is when it is bringing it back to the lungs to for more oxygen. The color of this blood is dark red. In one article it was interesting to read that people in high altitudes have more red blood cells. This must be because there is less oxygen up high so the body has to adapt.

toc =Lifespan of Red Blood Cells= The average life cycle of a red blood cell is 120 days. After 120 days the red blood cells are destroyed by the **Spleen**, a small organ on the left side of the abdomen. After the red blood cells are destroyed, they are transported to the liver by oxygen. The liver then stores the iron that the red blood cells contain. Next, the iron passes to the marrow of the bones where new blood cells are formed. New red blood cells are formed at the same time the old red blood cells get destroyed. There are different stages of development that red blood cells have to go through before it gets mature and gets sent to the bloodstream. These stages take about 7 days. = = Parts and Structure of a Red Blood Cell Red blood cells look like red donuts, except the middle is a dent and not a complete hole. They are round and pinched in the center. This pinched in center gives the red blood cell more surface area so it can carry more oxygen. Also, its shape makes red blood cells very flexible so they can twist and bend. This is because they have to move through very narrow passageways. For example, this round shape with a dent in the middle helps them be able to flow through veins, capillaries, and arteries easily. Some capillaries are smaller and thinner than a red blood cell, but because of it’s flexible shape a red blood cell can squeeze through easily. Red blood cells have about a 6 to 8 micrometer diameter, and a 2 micrometer thickness.

Red blood cells have different structures from other cells in the body. A red blood cell has an important part called **Hemoglobin**, which binds to and carries oxygen. Its is made of iron, also makes the red blood cell the color red. It has no nucleus or mitochondria. It still needs energy to survive so it gets its energy from enzymes in the cell.

= = = Sickle Cell Anemia- Red Blood Cell Disorder = **Sickle Cell Anemia** which can cause a blood cell to change shape instead of being round and flexible with a bent in the middle it can be stiff and curved. Is a red blood cell disorder that mostly affects people with African Ancestors and also, can be found in different groups such as people who are Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. It can be found in 1 in 12 African Americans. More than 70,000 people can get sickle cell anemia, about 2 million of them are Americans. **Sickle Cell trait** which means it carries a single gene that can be passed on to their children but people with sickle cell anemia doesn't really have the disease itself. A sickle cell anemia affects Hemoglobin protein found in the red blood cell. Sickle cell anemia can happen when a person gets to genes one from each parent, If a person has sickle cell anemia then that person’s red blood cell is shaped like a crescent moon. A red blood cell with normal hemoglobin moves easily through the bloodstream delivering oxygen to all of the cells in our body, however when red blood cells are stiff and curved it doesn't move as easily as normal blood cells.

=Conclusion= = =

Red blood cells are an important cell that helps you breathe. Red blood cells have jobs that they do, one of the main job a red blood cell does is carry oxygen to your body through your lungs. Red blood cells travel like its going in as figure eight shape. For example, the red blood cells get the oxygen from one side and carries it to the other. In order for oxygen to get to the heart, red blood cells travel through the heart, oxygen is dropped in the center of the heart. After, the red blood cells carried the oxygen to the heart then, the red blood cell then goes the opposite direction, and it does that over and over. Red blood cells also get renewed, after red blood cells die in about 120 day, the red blood cells carry it self to the abdomen and destroys itself.

=References.=

Works Cited “Blood.” BBC. BBC, 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. . kidshealth. Nemours, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. . Life Science: Cells Discovery Education, 2002. Full Video. Discovery Education. Web. 19 December 2014. . “Magnetic fields reduce blood viscosity.” Physicswrold.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. . Padilla, Michael J., et al. Prentice Hall Science Explorer. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print. Red Blood Cells. Physicsworld.com. IOP group, 8 June 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. . “Science Bar Graphs.” Jimdo. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. . What Color Is Your Blood?Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .