How is blood a connective tissue? What are the components of plasma? What is homeostasis; what role do plasma proteins play in helping the body maintain homeostasis? What are the formed elements found in the blood?
Blood is a type of connective tissue with a liquid extra cellular matrix called plasma. Plasma constitutes around 50-60 percent of the blood while the formed elements suspended in the plasma constitute the other 40-50 percent of whole blood. 90 percent of plasma is made up of water which acts as a solvent for a wide variety of substances such as dissolved gases, organic nutrients, plasma proteins, inorganic ions, nitrogenous wastes (urea in humans), and hormones. Dissolved gases include oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Organic nutrients include glucose, fats, phospholipids, amino acids, lactic acid, and cholesterol. Plasma proteins such as fibrinogen, the albumins, and the globulins are synthesized in the liver and lymphoid tissues. Plasma proteins help maintain the proper water balance between the blood and the cells of the body's tissues by determining the correct osmotic pressure of the plasma. The plasma proteins also help maintain the proper viscosity of the blood. Maintenance of homeostasis or the equilibrium of inorganic ion concentrations in the plasma is crucial to the normal functioning of the body and is regulated by the kidneys and certain hormones. The formed elements consist of platelets, leukocytes or white blood cells,
