BIOL 252 Human Anatomy & Physiology II –
Module 2 Blood and Hematology Exam.
SECTION I: COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BLOOD
1. What are the two primary components of whole blood when it is centrifuged, and
what is the approximate percentage of each?
Answer: Plasma (approximately 55 percent) and formed elements (approximately 45
percent).
2. What is the name of the laboratory test that measures the percentage of red blood
cells in a sample of whole blood?
Answer: Hematocrit.
3. What is the normal hematocrit range for adult males and adult females?
Answer: Males: 42 to 52 percent; Females: 37 to 47 percent.
4. What is the average total blood volume in an adult human?
Answer: Approximately 5 to 6 liters.
5. What is the pH range of normal blood?
Answer: 7.35 to 7.45.
6. What is the approximate temperature of blood relative to core body temperature?
Answer: Blood is approximately 38 degrees Celsius, which is about one degree higher
than normal body temperature.
,7. How does the viscosity of blood compare to that of water, and why?
Answer: Blood is approximately 3 to 5 times more viscous than water due to the
presence of formed elements and plasma proteins.
8. What is the buffy coat, and what does it contain?
Answer: A thin whitish layer found between the red blood cells and plasma after
centrifugation; it contains white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets.
9. What type of connective tissue is blood classified as?
Answer: Fluid connective tissue.
10. What is the extracellular matrix of blood?
Answer: Plasma.
SECTION II: BLOOD PLASMA
11. What is the most abundant solute in blood plasma?
Answer: Plasma proteins.
12. Name the three major categories of plasma proteins and their primary functions.
Answer: Albumin (maintains osmotic pressure and transports substances), globulins
(transport proteins and antibodies), and fibrinogen (essential for blood clotting).
13. Which plasma protein is the most abundant, and what percentage of total plasma
protein does it account for?
Answer: Albumin; approximately 60 percent.
, 14. What is the primary function of albumin in blood plasma?
Answer: It maintains blood colloid osmotic pressure, which prevents excessive fluid loss
from the capillaries into the interstitial space.
15. Where is the majority of plasma proteins synthesized?
Answer: The liver.
16. What are gamma globulins, and what role do they play?
Answer: They are antibodies (immunoglobulins) produced by B lymphocytes that are
critical to the immune response.
17. Besides proteins, name four other solutes found dissolved in blood plasma.
Answer: Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride), nutrients (glucose, amino
acids, fatty acids), respiratory gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide), and waste products
(urea, creatinine, bilirubin).
18. What happens to blood colloid osmotic pressure if a patient has severe liver disease
and cannot produce adequate albumin?
Answer: Blood colloid osmotic pressure decreases, causing fluid to leak from capillaries
into the tissues, leading to edema and ascites.
19. What is serum?
Answer: Blood plasma from which the clotting factors (especially fibrinogen) have been
removed.
20. How does dehydration affect the viscosity of blood?
Answer: It increases viscosity because there is less water in the plasma, concentrating
the formed elements and proteins.
Module 2 Blood and Hematology Exam.
SECTION I: COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BLOOD
1. What are the two primary components of whole blood when it is centrifuged, and
what is the approximate percentage of each?
Answer: Plasma (approximately 55 percent) and formed elements (approximately 45
percent).
2. What is the name of the laboratory test that measures the percentage of red blood
cells in a sample of whole blood?
Answer: Hematocrit.
3. What is the normal hematocrit range for adult males and adult females?
Answer: Males: 42 to 52 percent; Females: 37 to 47 percent.
4. What is the average total blood volume in an adult human?
Answer: Approximately 5 to 6 liters.
5. What is the pH range of normal blood?
Answer: 7.35 to 7.45.
6. What is the approximate temperature of blood relative to core body temperature?
Answer: Blood is approximately 38 degrees Celsius, which is about one degree higher
than normal body temperature.
,7. How does the viscosity of blood compare to that of water, and why?
Answer: Blood is approximately 3 to 5 times more viscous than water due to the
presence of formed elements and plasma proteins.
8. What is the buffy coat, and what does it contain?
Answer: A thin whitish layer found between the red blood cells and plasma after
centrifugation; it contains white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets.
9. What type of connective tissue is blood classified as?
Answer: Fluid connective tissue.
10. What is the extracellular matrix of blood?
Answer: Plasma.
SECTION II: BLOOD PLASMA
11. What is the most abundant solute in blood plasma?
Answer: Plasma proteins.
12. Name the three major categories of plasma proteins and their primary functions.
Answer: Albumin (maintains osmotic pressure and transports substances), globulins
(transport proteins and antibodies), and fibrinogen (essential for blood clotting).
13. Which plasma protein is the most abundant, and what percentage of total plasma
protein does it account for?
Answer: Albumin; approximately 60 percent.
, 14. What is the primary function of albumin in blood plasma?
Answer: It maintains blood colloid osmotic pressure, which prevents excessive fluid loss
from the capillaries into the interstitial space.
15. Where is the majority of plasma proteins synthesized?
Answer: The liver.
16. What are gamma globulins, and what role do they play?
Answer: They are antibodies (immunoglobulins) produced by B lymphocytes that are
critical to the immune response.
17. Besides proteins, name four other solutes found dissolved in blood plasma.
Answer: Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride), nutrients (glucose, amino
acids, fatty acids), respiratory gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide), and waste products
(urea, creatinine, bilirubin).
18. What happens to blood colloid osmotic pressure if a patient has severe liver disease
and cannot produce adequate albumin?
Answer: Blood colloid osmotic pressure decreases, causing fluid to leak from capillaries
into the tissues, leading to edema and ascites.
19. What is serum?
Answer: Blood plasma from which the clotting factors (especially fibrinogen) have been
removed.
20. How does dehydration affect the viscosity of blood?
Answer: It increases viscosity because there is less water in the plasma, concentrating
the formed elements and proteins.
