What Are the Different Blood Components?
Human blood is made up of two distinct components: cells and fluid. The cellular portion of blood includes red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Generally, the fluid portion of the blood is called plasma and is made up of various non-cellular materials. Together, these blood components make up whole blood. The cellular portion of blood contains several different types of cells and cell fragments. Red blood cells, also called erythrocytes, are the most numerous of these. The red blood cells use a molecule called hemoglobin to transport oxygen from the lungs to tissues in the body and to help move carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be removed. Mature red blood cells lack nuclei and organelles, and have a distinct biconcave shape that greatly increases surface area.
