A red blood cell, or erythrocyte, is the most common type of cell in blood. It carries oxygen throughout the circulatory system, from the lungs to the rest of the body, and brings carbon dioxide waste back the other way. All of the body's tissues are dependent upon oxygen from these cells — if the flow is cut off, the tissue dies. There are several medical conditions associated with red blood cells specifically, including sickle-cell anemia, thalassemia, and spherocytosis, but changes in the amount of these cells can also be a sign of other disorders.
Characteristics
Red blood cells have a diameter of about 6 to 8 micrometers (millionths of a meter), which is similar in size to most cells in the body. They are round and red, with a depression in the center. Adult humans have 20 to 30 trillion of these cells in their bodies, with men having more on average than women, and each one lives for about 120 days before being broken down. They are very flexible, which is important for their functioning, since they often have to squeeze through small openings.
Function
The main purpose of red blood cells is to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide through the circulatory system. The reason they can do this is that they contain an iron-containing protein called hemoglobin, which binds to oxygen. When the oxygen and the hemoglobin combine, they cause the cells to become bright red. This is why blood looks red when it goes outside of the body as well — when exposed to the open through a cut, the cells become exposed to a lot of atmospheric oxygen. Once all the oxygen connected to the cells is used up, then they collect carbon dioxide and other waste gases from the body and bring it back to the lungs, where they swap it for oxygen and start the cycle again.
Related Disorders
There are a variety of medical disorders associated with red blood cells, with one of the most common being sickle-cell disease. This is a genetic disorder that causes the cells to become stiff and sickle-shaped. This makes them unable to move properly throughout the circulatory system, and can lead to a variety of problems, including strokes, blindness, and chronic pain. Spherocytosis is another genetic condition that changes the shape of cells and makes them brittle, but unlike sickle-cell disease, it makes them spherical.
Several other conditions cause red blood cell abnormalities by disrupting the proper production of hemoglobin. This includes thalassemia, a genetic disorder that causes abnormal hemoglobin molecules, and pernicious anemia, in which the body doesn't absorb enough B12, which is needed for making hemoglobin. Additionally, conditions like G6PD deficiency, hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, and aplastic anemia can cause problems with the creation and life of red blood cells.
Besides conditions that affect the cells themselves, having an increase or decrease in the number of red blood cells in the body can be a symptom of several conditions. A high red blood cell count, also called polycythemia, can be caused by poor circulation to the kidneys, genetic heart problems, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and pulmonary fibrosis. Some people are also born with genetic variants that cause them to have higher than normal red blood cell counts. A lower than normal count can be a sign of poor nutrition, problems with bone marrow, and leukemia, among other things.
Michael is a longtime TheHealthBoard contributor who specializes in topics relating to paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism. In addition to being an avid blogger, Michael is particularly passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. He has also worked for the Methuselah Foundation, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Lifeboat Foundation.