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Article: Blood
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Aging
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BLOOD
The blood is a complex organ composed of cells of diverse form that perform diverse functions. Red blood cells or
erythrocytes
deliver oxygen to the tissues of the body.
Platelets
govern primary hemostasis, plugging damaged blood
vessels after trauma to stop bleeding. The white blood cells (
neutrophils
,
macrophages
,
eosinophils
,
basophils
, and
B- and T-lymphocytes
) are all involved in different aspects of immunity from infection. Although most aspects of blood physiology do not change throughout adult life, some disorders of the blood, particularly anemia and neoplastic diseases, do occur more frequently with increasing age.
Aging and blood cell production
In mammals, ...