So, yesterday we talked about blood as a whole (haha..terrible pun…)…and in the next several articles, we’ll be breaking down our blood into each of its parts.

Today, we’ll talk very briefly about plasma.

Plasma makes up about 55% of our total blood volume. Plasma is a kind of straw colored substance, which holds all of the rest of our blood parts in suspension. It is made up mostly of water, dissolved proteins, hormones, and CO2. It also carries waste products, clotting factors and antibodies through the system. Your plasma helps to maintain your blood volume and balance electrolytes. We don’t often think about blood plasma, but it is actually very important. The antibodies and proteins in plasma can even be used to create treatments for certain autoimmune disorders and hemophilia.

Tomorrow we’ll be talking about Red Blood Cells (RBCs)

Until tomorrow,

Lina