Question

Red blood cells in normal saline (Isotonic solution) can survive while blast and destroy in water. Need an explanation under this statement.

Answer 1

Red blood cells (erythrocytes)

The red blood cells are highly specialized, well adapted for their primary function of transporting oxygen from the lungs to all of the body tissues. Red cells are approximately 7.8 μm (1 μm = 0.000039 inch) in diameter and have the form of biconcave disks, a shape that provides a large surface-to-volume ratio. When fresh blood is examined with the microscope, red cells appear to be yellow-green disks with pale centres containing no visible internal structures. When blood is centrifuged to cause the cells to settle, the volume of packed red cells (hematocrit value) ranges between 42 and 54 percent of total volume in men and between 37 and 47 percent in women; values are somewhat lower in children. Normal red blood cells are fairly uniform in volume, so that the hematocrit value is determined largely by the number of red cells per unit of blood. The normal red cell count ranges between four million and six million per cubic millimetre.