Glossary
The vocabulary of blood science, in plain words.
- Plasma
- The liquid part of blood: water, salts and proteins.
- Serum
- Plasma with the clotting proteins removed.
- Red cell
- Erythrocyte: the oxygen carrier. It has no nucleus and lives about 120 days.
- White cell
- Leukocyte: any of the immune cells carried in blood.
- Platelet
- A cell fragment that starts clot formation.
- Haemoglobin
- The iron-containing protein in red cells that binds oxygen.
- Haematocrit
- The proportion of blood volume taken up by red cells — typically about 40 to 45 per cent.
- Haematopoiesis
- The formation of blood cells, in the bone marrow.
- Anaemia
- Too little haemoglobin to carry enough oxygen.
- Antigen (blood group)
- A molecule on the red cell surface that differs between people.
- ABO
- The most important blood group system: groups A, B, AB and O.
- Rh
- The second most important system. “Positive” and “negative” refer to its D antigen.
- Crossmatch
- A laboratory test mixing patient plasma with the cells to be transfused, to check compatibility.
- Coagulation cascade
- The chain of plasma proteins that ends in a fibrin clot.
- Fibrin
- The protein mesh that holds a clot together.
- Haemophilia
- An inherited lack of a clotting factor.
- Thrombosis
- A clot forming where it should not, inside a vessel.
- Anticoagulant
- A substance that prevents clotting.
- Leukaemia
- Cancer of the blood-forming cells.
- Component therapy
- Giving only the part of blood a patient needs: red cells, platelets or plasma.