• biconcave disc
  • generates more surface area than sphere
• mean corpuscular volume (MCV)- 87 cubic microns
• diameter- 7 microns
• major content is Hb
  • Mean Corpuscular Hb Conc. (MCHC) of 33% (very concentrated solution of Hb)
  • MCH- how much Hb is in one RBC (absolute number) is 30 picograms/cell

how many RBC's in a given volume of blood (average value = 5-5.5 x 10^-12 cells/L)

Female count is usually lower than male.

• plasma- has clotting factors
• serum- no clotting factors

• at top, you will see the plasma or serum
• at bottom, you will see packed cells

If you measure volume of packed cells over total volume, you find hematocrit.

lyse the red blood cells and see the amount of Hb released in sample of blood

(average 16 grams/deciL)

• carry molecular oxygen from the lungs to the peripheral tissue via protein Hb
• bind CO2 and take it to the lungs
• buffer (transport of CO2 in plasma as bicarb.)

• Hb-O2 dissociates to form superoxide anion and met-Hb

1. Met Hb and cyc b5 (carry ferrous) goes to Hb via Met Hb reductase
   1. cyc b5 (carrying ferric at the end of reaction) converted back to ferrous form via cyc b5 reductase (requires oxidation of NADH)

1. 2 superoxide anions and water produces oxygen and hydrogen peroxide via superoxide dismutase
2. 2 hydrogen peroxides generates oxygen and 2 waters via catalase (hemeprotein)

Superoxide dismutase is in almost ALL cells.

• oxidant can oxidize the double bond in polyunsaturated fatty acids found in the membrane to a lipid peroxide
• peroxides will break down to form free radicals
  • if this is not stopped, chain reactions that cause loss of membrane integrity

• structure- has a very long isoprenoid side chain with two connected ring structures
• function
  • in reduced form, serves as antioxidiant (reducing agent) and inactivate oxidants (reduce it to alcohol) non-enzymatically
  • produces oxidized form of Vit E

vitamin C

glutathione

• tripeptide (glu, cys, gly)
• SH group of Cys supplies reducing equivalents and its oxidized to the disulfide
• function- reduce Vit E under non enzymatic conditions

• location- can be associated with the membrane or in the cytosol
• function (requires sellinium)
  • catalyze reduction of lipid peroxides using glutathione as reducing agent

• structure- flavoprotein
• function
  • catalyze reduction of oxidized glutathione into reduced form (now it can eliminate lipid peroxides)
  • oxidizes NADPH to NADP (NEED HMG SHUT TO KEEP THIS RXN GOING)

• w/o balance, cell will swell or shrink
• maintained via ion pumps
  • Na/K pump (translocase)
    • uses half of ATP generated by RBC
  • ATP production via substrate level phosphorylation steps of glycolysis     (3 PG kinase and pyruvate kinase)

1. 1,3 BPG goes to 2,3 BPG via mutase
2. 2,3 BPG goes to 3-PGA via phosphatase

1. oxidative pathway will produce the NADPH needed for glutathione reductase to form reduced glutathione and Ru-5P
   1. NADPH via G6PDH and 6PGDH
   2. can speed up to meet the need of glutathione reductase
2. Ru-5P uses non oxidative pathway to form F6P via transketolase, transaldolase, and transketolase again

• G6P dehydrogenase (no NADPH for glutathione reducatse, so the cell is killed by oxidants)
• pyruvate kinase (ATP cannot be provided to translocase needed to maintain ionic balance

decrease RBC count

decrease Hb conc.

decrease Hct

normal MCV

normal MCHC

normal MCH

nothing wrong with volume or Hb in RBC

• normocytic normochromic
  • volume normal
  • color of RBC normal
• microcytic hypochromic
  • low MCV, MHC
  • not much color (usually when RBC's are small, there is not much color to them) 
• macrocytic normochromic
  • high MCV/MHC
  • normal color to RBC

Based on volume

Normocytic normochromic anemia

• decrease RBC count
• decrease Hb conc.
• decrease Hct
• normal MCH, MCV