Plasma is the yellow liquid part of blood which surrounds the red blood cells. It contains many dissolved substances , like glucose, salts and amino acids. It also contains plasma proteins, such as blood clotting factors.
About 55% of our blood's total volume is made up of plasma, and about 95% of it consists of water.
Plasma is important because it allows blood to navigate fast moving substances in solution and slow moving thicker substances in suspension.
When the heart pumps blood to cells in the body, plasma brings nourishment to them, and removing waste products.
Some materials which are in transit in the blood are Cabon Dioxide which travels to the lungs, digested food which travels to the liver, and wastes (ie, urea) which travels to the kidneys. Once these materials have reached their destination, they are removed from the blood.
Proteins make up a small percentage of the blood, and are equally divided between serum albumin and a large ariety of serum globulins. Serum albumin is made up in the liver. It binds many small molecules for transport through the blood. It also helps maintain the osmotic pressure of the blood.
The other proteins present are all serum globulins. These iclude:
Alpha globulins - like the proteins which transport thyroxin and retinol.
Beta globulins - such as the iron transporting protein transferring.
Gamma globulins - most antibodies are these. Gamma globulins increase in number following illness.
Bibliography:
http://www.penhealth.com/
cgpartnership handout, week 24
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