That red stuff coursing about our bodies 24/7 is the most remarkable liquid in the world. All creatures great and small have it, with the exception of insects that have hemolymph as their blood substitute. A great misnomer are so-called cold blooded living things.
Cold blooded refers not to the temperature of the creature’s blood, but to its inability to self-regulate its body temperature. Normally, cold blooded living things have fewer red blood corpuscles which tend to thicken in cold conditions such as those living in the Polar regions. To compensate, they have bigger hearts.
Thus the saying that one directs at cold, emotionless people, “have a heart!” Elton John sung: “Cold cold heart, hardened by you …” Regarding vampires, the Count of Transylvania was a wus! We all have about five litres of blood on board. In survival terms, it’s a “must have” commodity.
Read Full Article on The Witness
[paywall]
Red blood cells transport oxygen and white cells fight off infections and boost immunity. To articulate the myriad of references to blood by poets, and philosophers is impossible. It’s said that it is the pathologist who makes the final diagnosis, undertaken post mortem.
Fat lot of good that’ll do you. Talk about being wise after events. So often it is blood that holds the secrets of maladies.
A combination of histology (study of tissues) and hematology (study of blood) that reveals all. It takes around 20 to 60 seconds for blood to do a full body tour, including all the sights, depending on the fitness of the heart. Professor Christian Barnard said in his distinctive accent born of his upbringing in Beaufort West: “The haaaart … is mos ‘n pomp.” Serious bleeding can lead to anaemia.
My alcoholic Uncle Fred was anaemic. Anaemia refers not to a lack of blood per se, but rather a lack of red blood cells, as a possible result of a bleed or a plethora of other conditions. It’s often difficult to diagnose. Fred complained of dizziness.
[/paywall]
