Erythrocytes function, production, death and disposal, homeostasis and disorders: An overview

Abstract

A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. The reddish color is due to the hemoglobin. Erythrocytes have two principal functions: 1) to pick up oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to tissues elsewhere, and 2) to pick up carbon dioxide from the tissues and unload it in the lungs. An erythrocyte lives for an average of 120 days from the time it is produced in the red bone marrow until it dies and breaks up. The production of erythrocyte is known as erythropoiesis. The process of RBCs production normally takes 3 to 5 days and involve 5 major developments: a reduction in cell size, an increase in cell number, the synthesis of hemoglobin, the loss of nucleus, and the loss of other organelles. Any imbalance between the rates of erythropoiesis and RBC destruction may produce an excess or deficiency of red blood cells. Erythrocyte disorders includes: anemia, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, erythrocytosis.