Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Differential Interference Contrast Image Gallery

Human Erythrocytes

In an average adult, each cubic millimeter of blood contains more than five million erythrocytes, which are commonly known as red blood cells. Erythrocytes are what give blood its characteristic color and are primarily responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body and the metabolic waste product carbon dioxide back to the lungs.

Human erythrocytes generally only live for about 100 days and, therefore, must be periodically replenished. The majority of new erythrocytes develop in the bone marrow through a several stage process and are stored in the spleen. Beginning as a hemocytoblast, a cell that has multiple development potentials, in the mesenchyme, the structure slowly turns into an erythroblast, which then loses its nucleus and mitochondria and gains hemoglobin. A later stage of the cell known as a reticulocyte, is what finally develops into an erythrocyte. The entire progression from hemocytoblast to red blood cell requires two to five days to complete.

When fully mature, erythrocytes typically have a rounded, biconcave shape that gives them the appearance of a dumbbell when viewed from the side. Their design facilitates oxygen exchange at a continuous rate over the greatest possible area. Though most average humans have a small fraction of oval-shaped red blood cells as well, an unusually high number of such cells or other alternatively shaped erythrocytes is a characteristic of certain diseases. For instance, large numbers of oval red blood cells is a sign of pernicious anemia and crescent-shaped erythrocytes are a distinguishing feature of sickle cell anemia.

BACK TO THE DIC IMAGE GALLERY

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Friday, Nov 13, 2015 at 02:19 PM
Access Count Since April 22, 2003: 29082
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: