Blood plasma

Blood can be divided into a cellular component and a liquid plasma portion in which "float" the cells ( from Ancient Greek πλάσμα plasma " formations "). The liquid cell-free portion is called a blood plasma and has a share of about 50-59% in men and 54-73 % in women on blood volume. In contrast to blood serum, it still contains all of the coagulation factors. Blood plasma is the starting material for plasma fractionation.

Blood plasma serves as a transport medium for glucose, lipids, hormones, metabolic products, carbon dioxide and oxygen. The oxygen-carrying capacity substantially below that of hemoglobin in red blood cells; under hyperbaric (high pressure) conditions can increase. It is also the storage and transport medium of clotting factors, and its protein content is necessary to maintain the colloid osmotic pressure of the blood.

The proportion of blood plasma on the body weight is about five per cent, which corresponds to a volume of about 3.5 liters for a 70 kg human. The density is 1028 g / l

Blood plasma can be recovered by centrifugation of the blood, such as sodium citrate, which was mixed with an anticoagulant before ( see clotting). The plasma thus obtained is usually yellowish- clear, and is used for plasma donation used ( in this case then as fresh frozen plasma refers ). If the plasma obtained, however, milky white, it is called a " lipemic " ( fatty degeneration ) and are not released for transfusion. The reason for this may be a problem of fat metabolism of the donor or simply an immediately preceding high-fat meal. If the plasma obtained reddish colored to red, it is described as " hemolytic ": Red blood cells have burst and there was hemolysis.

Components

Blood plasma is 90 to 91 wt - % water, the rest are solutes. These include blood proteins, inorganic electrolytes, glucose and urea.