Red Blood Cells

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most plentiful cell type in the human body suggesting a critical role for organ systems. Indeed, anemic levels of RBCs can lead to dangerously low oxygenation levels in the body, resulting in under-perfused organs and tissues. Watch this video to learn more about them!

Self-Assessment Questions:

Click here to test your understanding of Red Blood Cells.

Discussion Questions:

1. After reviewing NIH’s “In Brief: Your Guide to Anemia,” compare and contrast the different types of anemia. What are some potential causes for each of them? What are treatment options for each of them?
2. There were multiple quantitative parameters mentioned in the video (Hematocrit, MCHC, etc.). What are some advantages and disadvantages of each of them? How do they describe blood composition differently?
3. Hemoglobin is a complex molecule. After reviewing the literature, can you provide some reasons why hemoglobin is able to load oxygen in the lungs and unload it in respiring tissues? (Refer to Berg et al.)
4. The determination of hematocrit using centrifugation requires blood to be drawn from the patient, which is invasive. Can you think of a possible way that hematocrit could be determined non-invasively (i.e. without removing blood from the body)? Refer to Mannino et al. for a start on ideas.
5. Consider an individual with a Hematocrit of 0.16. What could cause this abnormal value? Now consider an individual with a Hematocrit of 0.67. What could cause this abnormal value?

Continue Reading:

• J. M. Berg, J. L. Tymoczko, and L. Stryer, “Hemoglobin Transports Oxygen Efficiently by Binding Oxygen Cooperatively,” Biochemistry. 5th edition, 2002, Accessed: May 31, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22596/
  • This textbook chapter details subunits, mechanism of hemoglobin binding to oxygen, structure of the components in the active site, and how oxygen affinity of hemoglobin changes under different conditions such as 2,3-biphosphoglycerate.
• “In Brief: Your Guide To Anemia.” National Institutes of Health, Sep. 2011. [Online]. Available: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/blood/anemia-inbrief_yg.pdf
  • This guide includes types of anemia, treatments, symptoms, and risk factors.
• R. G. Mannino et al., “Smartphone app for non-invasive detection of anemia using only patient-sourced photos,” Nat Commun, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 4924, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07262-2.
  • In this study, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology developed a smartphone app that calculates hemoglobin levels from pictures via an algorithm. Note: This article may not be accessible due to subscription permissions.

About the Creator:

This video was created by a student in the Rice Bioengineering Class of 2023 (used with permission).