human blood

) Drugs may also affect the blood itself, such as by activating or inhibiting enzymes involved in the formation of clots (thrombi) within blood vessels. Thrombi form when blood vessels are damaged, such as by wounding or by the accumulation of harmful substances (e.g., fat,…

Because the blood is the vehicle of chemical distribution in the body, intravenous injection is the most rapid method of introducing a chemical into the body. The almost instantaneous distribution, together with the irreversibility, makes intravenous injection a dangerous method of chemical exposure, with a fair chance…

The chemical is distributed via the blood to the various tissues of the body, where the chemical is transported across blood capillary walls. There are four types of blood capillary walls: tight, continuous, fenestrated, and discontinuous.

…in concentrated form, and the blood and the tissue fluids strictly regulated as to volume, chemical composition, and osmotic pressure. Under the drive of arterial pressure, water and salts are filtered from the blood through the capillaries of the glomerulus into the lumen, or passageway, of the nephron, and then…

An adequate blood supply to the wound is essential. If the tissue is tight and the edges cannot be closed without tension, the blood supply will be compromised. Cutting under the skin to free it from the underlying subcutaneous tissue may allow the edges to be brought…

…directly to the quantity of blood cells destroyed. About 0.5 to 2 grams are produced daily. It has no known function and can be toxic to the fetal brain.

…and in the clotting of blood. Calcium is involved in the stimulation of contractions of the uterus during childbirth and in the production of milk. It also regulates the secretion of various hormones and aids in the functioning of various enzymes within the body.

…high concentration in the red blood cells as an essential part of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which promotes many reactions relating to carbon dioxide metabolism. The zinc present in the pancreas may aid in the storage of insulin. Zinc is a component of some enzymes that digest

…function, and diseases of the blood. In the 17th century, Dutch microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, using a primitive, single-lens microscope, observed red blood cells (erythrocytes) and compared their size with that of a grain of sand. In the 18th century English physiologist William Hewson amplified the description of red cells…

One of the animal tissues that has always excited special curiosity is blood. Blood has been investigated intensively from the early days of biochemistry, and its chemical composition is known with greater accuracy and in more detail than that of any other tissue in…

…helped develop the methods of blood fractionation (the separation of plasma proteins into fractions). During World War II he headed a team of chemists, physicians, and medical scientists who made possible the large-scale production of human plasma fractions for treatment of the wounded.

…was to recognize that the blood flows rapidly around the human body, being pumped through a single system of arteries and veins, and to support this hypothesis with experiments and arguments. There had been suggestions, both within the European tradition (by 16th-century Spanish physician Servetus) and within the Islamic tradition…

…of the composition of the blood and lymph, the process of coagulation, the structure of lymph hearts of frogs, the formation of images on the retina of the eye, and the propagation of sound in the middle ear.

…and the large volume of blood is comparable to the total volume of all body fluids in vertebrates.

…bce) emphasized the importance of blood in heredity. He thought that the blood supplied generative material for building all parts of the adult body, and he reasoned that blood was the basis for passing on this generative power to the next generation. In fact, he believed that the male’s semen…

The blood theory of heredity, if this notion can be dignified with such a name, is really a part of the folklore antedating scientific biology. It is implicit in such popular phrases as “half blood,” “new blood,” and “blue blood.” It does not mean that heredity…

Because blood is associated with both life and death, the use of blood in purification rites is often central to the symbolic renewal process. Nearly all rituals involve the reading or reciting of spells, texts, or prayers that have a generalized efficacy over negative forces, and…

…unit analyzes evidence such as blood, semen, saliva, bones, plant matter, and insects. Bodily fluids are some of the major forms of evidence handled by that unit and can be used to conduct DNA fingerprinting to identify both the victims and the perpetrators of violent crimes. Bloodstain patterns, especially back…

Paintings for which human blood was the medium have been found and proved to be more than 20,000 years old.

…study of serums such as blood and other human fluids. In 1901 Karl Landsteiner, a researcher at the University of Vienna, published his discovery that human blood could be grouped into distinct types, which became known as the ABO blood group system. In 1915 the Italian scientist Leone Lattes developed…

…other potentially toxic agents in blood, urine, or other bodily substances. Toxicology is the study of poisons—their action, their detection, and the treatment of conditions they produce. Many substances are toxic only at high concentrations. For example, lithium is used to treat bipolar disorder but can be toxic at high…

Blood transfusion has been one of the most important factors in the development of modern surgery. There are many lifesaving surgical procedures that are possible only because the blood loss inevitable in the operation can be made up by transfusion. Blood transfusion is of…