plasma

Examples of plasma in the following topics:

• Blood Plasma

  • Plasma comprises about 55% of total blood volume.
  • One percent of the plasma is salt, which helps with pH.
  • Human blood plasma volume averages about 2.7–3.0 liters.
  • Plasma contains molecules that are transported around the body.
  • Albumins, produced in the liver, make up about two-thirds of the proteins in plasma.

• Plasma and Serum

  • Plasma is the liquid component of blood after all of the cells and platelets are removed; serum is plasma after coagulation factors have been removed.
  • Plasma, the liquid component of blood, comprises 55 percent of the total blood volume.
  • Plasma consists of 90 percent water along with various substances required for maintaining the body's pH, osmotic load, and for protecting the body.
  • The plasma also contains the coagulation factors and antibodies.
  • Human serum albumin, the most abundant protein in human blood plasma, is synthesized in the liver.

• Components of Plasma Membranes

  • The plasma membrane protects the cell from its external environment, mediates cellular transport, and transmits cellular signals.
  • The plasma membrane (also known as the cell membrane or cytoplasmic membrane) is a biological membrane that separates the interior of a cell from its outside environment.
  • The primary function of the plasma membrane is to protect the cell from its surroundings.
  • Just as a hole in the wall can be a disaster for the castle, a rupture in the plasma membrane causes the cell to lyse and die.
  • Among the most sophisticated functions of the plasma membrane is its ability to transmit signals via complex proteins.

• Injuring the Plasma Membrane

  • Several types of antimicrobial drugs function by disrupting or injuring the plasma membrane.
  • The plasma membrane or cell membrane is a biological membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside environment.
  • The plasma membrane is selectively permeable to ions and organic molecules.
  • There are several types of antimicrobial drugs that function by disrupting or injuring the plasma membrane.
  • Discuss the function of the plasma membrane and how antimicrobial drugs target it

• Phases of Matter

  • There are four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
  • Plasma is a gas that has been ionized.
  • Plasma contains ions and electrons that can move around freely.
  • Matter in the plasma state has variable volume and shape.
  • Plasma is the most common form of visible matter in the universe .

• Selective Permeability

  • Plasma membranes are asymmetric: the interior of the membrane is not identical to the exterior of the membrane.
  • Carbohydrates, attached to lipids or proteins, are also found on the exterior surface of the plasma membrane.
  • This adds considerably to the selective nature of plasma membranes.
  • Recall that plasma membranes are amphiphilic; that is, they have hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions.
  • The exterior surface of the plasma membrane is not identical to the interior surface of the same membrane.

• Plasma Membrane Hormone Receptors

  • Hormones that cannot diffuse through the plasma membrane instead bind to receptors on the cell surface, triggering intracellular events.
  • Amino acid-derived hormones and polypeptide hormones are not lipid-derived (lipid-soluble or fat-soluble); therefore, they cannot diffuse through the plasma membrane of cells.
  • Lipid-insoluble hormones bind to receptors on the outer surface of the plasma membrane, via plasma membrane hormone receptors.
  • The amino acid-derived hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine bind to beta-adrenergic receptors on the plasma membrane of cells.
  • Describe the events that occur when a hormone binds to a plasma hormone receptor

• Fluid Mosaic Model

  • Nicolson in 1972 to explain the structure of the plasma membrane.
  • Plasma membranes range from 5 to 10 nm in thickness.
  • Proteins make up the second major component of plasma membranes.
  • Carbohydrates are the third major component of plasma membranes.
  • The fluid mosaic model of the plasma membrane describes the plasma membrane as a fluid combination of phospholipids, cholesterol, and proteins.

• Blood Flow

  • Blood is the viscous fluid composed of plasma and cells.
  • The composition of the blood includes plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
  • Normal plasma behaves like a Newtonian fluid at rates of shear.
  • Typical values for the viscosity of normal human plasma at 37°C is 1.2Nsm-2.
  • The osmotic pressure of the plasma affects the mechanics of the circulation in several ways.

• Transfusions of Whole Blood

  • Whole blood refers to blood drawn directly from the body from which none of the components, such as plasma or platelets, have been removed.
  • Most blood banks now split the whole blood into two or more components, typically red blood cells and a plasma component such as fresh frozen plasma, which is extracted frozen plasma from the blood splitting process.
  • Centrifuge quickly separates whole blood into plasma, buffy coat, and red cells by using centrifugal force to drop the cellular components to the bottom of a container.
  • Sedimentation, in which whole blood sits overnight, causing the red blood cells and plasma to settle and slowly separate by the force of normal gravity.
  • Whole blood is sometimes "recreated" from stored red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma for neonatal transfusions.