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Chemical Composition of Blood
What Is the Chemical
Composition of Blood?
by
Blood is slightly more dense and approximately 3-4 times more
viscous than water.
Blood consists of cells which are suspended in a liquid.
As with other suspensions, the components of blood can be separated
by filtration, however, the most common method of separating blood is
to centrifuge (spin) it.
Three layers are visible in centrifuged blood.
The straw-colored liquid portion, called plasma, forms at the top
(~55%).
A thin cream-colored layer, called the buffy coat, forms below the
plasma. The buffy coat consists of white blood cells and platelets.
The red blood cells form the heavy bottom portion of the separated
mixture (~45%).
What Is the Volume of Blood?
Blood volume is variable but tends to be about 8% of body weight.
Factors such as body size, the amount of adipose tissue, and
electrolyte concentrations all affect volume. The average adult has about 5
liters of blood.
What Is the Composition of Blood?
Blood consists of cellular material (99% red blood cells, with
white blood cells and platelets making up the remainder),
water, amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, hormones, vitamins,
electrolytes, dissolved gasses, and cellular wastes.
Each red blood cell is about 1/3 hemoglobin, by volume.
Plasma is about 92% water, with plasma proteins as the most
abundant solutes.
The main plasma protein groups are albumins, globulins, and
fibrinogens.
The primary blood gasses are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and
nitrogen.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Ph.D.
in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
Science
educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and
physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
ThoughtCo
and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.
Widely-published
graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other
illustrations used in science.
Experience
Anne
Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education
since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology,
astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing
diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.
In
addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a
scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary
approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college
professor.
Education
Dr.
Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor
in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine
developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.
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