What are the four components of the blood?

Blood has four main components: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma.

a diagram shoing the parts of the blood. Plasma, red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells

 

These are the functions of each component.

Component Function
Red blood cell To carry oxygen from the lungs to every cell in the body
White blood cell To fight infection by micro-organisms and stop other diseases
Platelets Broken down parts of cells that clot the blood
Plasma A liquid that carries the blood cells and platelets around the body

There are different amounts of the four components in the blood.

a test tube showing the parts of the blood and their percentages. Plasma 55%, Platlets and White blood cells 1%, Red blood cells 44%
Red blood cells

Red blood cells are the most numerous cell in the blood. In one drop of blood there are around 3-5 million red blood cells. They are made in the bone marrow.

Oxygen moves by diffusion into red blood cells in the lungs. They have a chemical inside them called haemoglobin, a red pigment which binds with the oxygen to carry oxygen to where it is needed in the body.

An image of 3 red blood cells next to the formula haemoglobin plus oxygen equals oxyhaemoglobin

Red blood cells do not have a nucleus to maximise the oxygen they can carry. They have dips on both sides to maximise their surface area to absorb oxygen as quickly as possible. This shape is called biconcave.

White blood cells

White blood cells form part of the immune system to keep us safe from infection and other diseases (e.g. cancer and foreign bodies inside you). There are 10,000-20,000 white blood cells in one drop of blood, and even more when a person is ill. They are made in bone marrow.

There are two types of white blood cell:

  • Granulocytes, which surround, engulf and destroy germs
  • Lymphocytes which produce antibodies that stick germs together. This makes it easier for granulocytes to destroy them.

Granulocytes ‘engulf’ pathogens rather than ‘eat’ them because they do not have a mouth.

Diagram of the 2 types of white blood cell - phagocyte and lymphocyte

The two types of white blood cell. Granulocyte (left) and lymphocyte

Platelets

Platelets are small, colourless fragments of cells that stop cuts from bleeding. There are several hundred thousand platelets in each drop of blood.

Like red and white blood cells, platelets are made in bone marrow.

four platelets - small irregular shaped, light coloured parts of the blood
Platelets also form scabs to seal the skin and keep infection out
Plasma

Plasma is the liquid that makes up more than half of the blood in a human body. It is mainly made of water and is pale yellow so is often called ‘straw-coloured’.

It carries all the platelets and red and white blood cells around the human body. It also carries hormones, dissolved glucose and salts, and enzymes, around the body. Waste products like carbon dioxide are also transported in the plasma.

a bag of blood plasma in a hospital

Summary

We have described what are the four components of the blood. We hope it has been helpful.