{"id":31110,"date":"2023-09-03T06:55:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T01:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=31110"},"modified":"2025-04-16T09:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T03:49:46","slug":"red-blood-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/red-blood-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Red Blood Cells (RBCs)?"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>About Red Blood Cells (RBCs):<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>RBCs, or\u00a0<strong>erythrocytes<\/strong>, are one of the\u00a0<strong>components of blood<\/strong>. (The others are plasma, platelets and white blood cells.)\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Function<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>They\u00a0<strong>deliver oxygen to the tissues<\/strong> throughout the human body.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Oxygen turns into energy, and\u00a0<strong>tissues release carbon dioxide.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>RBCs\u00a0<strong>also transport carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Where are RBCs made?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>They are\u00a0<strong>made in the bone marrow.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>They typically<strong> live for about 120 days, and then they die.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hemoglobin<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>RBCs\u00a0<strong>contain a protein called hemoglobin,<\/strong> which\u00a0<strong>binds to oxygen in the lungs,\u00a0<\/strong>forming oxyhemoglobin.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hemoglobin also helps carry carbon dioxide back to the lungs<\/strong> as carbaminohemoglobin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shape<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>RBCs are\u00a0<strong>biconcave, disc-shaped cells with a dimple in the center on both sides.<\/strong> This unique shape\u00a0<strong>increases the surface area o<\/strong>f the cell,\u00a0<strong>allowing for efficient gas exchange.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is\u00a0<strong>covered with a membrane composed of lipids and proteins and lacks a nucleus.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>What does a low RBC count mean?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A low RBC count,\u00a0<strong>known as anemia<\/strong>, can\u00a0<strong>cause fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness<\/strong> and other symptoms. If untreated,\u00a0<strong>anemia can lead to serious complications.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>In many cases,\u00a0<strong>anemia occurs when people don\u2019t eat a nutrient-rich diet.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It can\u00a0<strong>also be caused by pregnancy and certain medical conditions<\/strong> such as bleeding disorders and kidney disease.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Choosing foods that are rich in iron and other vitamins a<\/strong>nd minerals<strong> can help raise the RBC count.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What is Sickle cell anemia?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>It is an\u00a0<strong>inherited blood disorder.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It\u00a0<strong>affects hemoglobin<\/strong>, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>People with this disease have atypical hemoglobin\u00a0<\/strong>molecules c<strong>alled hemoglobin S<\/strong>, which\u00a0<strong>can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>These sickle cells also become rigid a<\/strong>nd sticky, which\u00a0<strong>can<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>slow or block blood flow.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What causes it?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The cause of Sickle cell disease<strong> is a defective gene called a sickle cell gene.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A person will be born with sickle cell disease only if two genes are inherited\u2014one from the mother and one from the father.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Treatments<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>The only cure for this disease is\u00a0<strong>bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>However,\u00a0<strong>there are<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>treatments that can help relieve symptoms,<\/strong> lessen complications, and prolong life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1) What is bone marrow?<\/h3>\n<p>Bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue found in the cavities of certain bones in the human body. It is a crucial part of the human circulatory system and plays a vital role in blood formation, immune function, and the storage of fat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dtnext.in\/lifestyle\/wellbeing\/red-blood-cells-exposed-to-oxygen-deficiency-protect-against-heart-attack-733757\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Red blood cells exposed to oxygen deficiency protect against heart attack<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RBCs, or erythrocytes, are one of the components of blood. (The others are plasma, platelets and white blood cells.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":31111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}