How are red and white blood cells adapted for their function?
Phagocytes (White blood cells) engulf harmful micro-organisms in the body. They have a flexible cell membrane which means they can squeeze through small gaps in the capillaries to travel to where they are needed in the body. Their cytoplasm contains enzymes. This means that once a micro-organism is ingested by the cell, it will be digested by these enzymes.The cell membrane has a sensitive surface to enable the cell to detect foreign bodies and destroy. Lymphocytes produce antibodies to defend against disease. They are adapted by having a large nucleus which contains many copies of genes for the control of the production of antibodies.
