Difference between Blood and Platelets

The human body is quite a complicated device, since there are many interactions that occur between the different systems that it has in order for everything to work properly. Among all these systems, the circulatory system is one of the most important and studied; since it is in charge of regulating how blood circulates through the body.  Difference between Blood and Platelets

Thanks to the circulatory system, the blood that is pumped travels through all parts of the body. An average adult owes about 7% of his total weight to the amount of blood inside him (approximately 5 liters).

When we talk about the blood, it is common that we also mention the parts that compose it; But when we do lab tests we commonly pay more attention to one of those parts: platelets. If you want a little more information about the difference between blood and platelets, keep reading, because we will explain it to you below.

BLOOD  Difference between Blood and Platelets

Blood has a wide variety of functions in our body, including transporting oxygen, nutrients, and carbon dioxide and other waste from cells. Likewise, the blood helps regulate the temperature, the Ph and to maintain the balance of the water in the body.

The three most important types of cells in the blood are: white blood cells or leukocytes, red blood cells or erythrocytes, and platelets. The former are responsible for the body’s defense, that is, they make up the immune system; the latter carry oxygen from the lungs to the cells and the third are responsible for helping the blood to clot properly and stop bleeding.

PLATELETS

When a person cuts himself, it is normal for him to start bleeding, depending on the type of injury, the bleeding can be light or too much; however, after the bleeding stops; unless the person bleeds to death. The fact that the bleeding stops is due to the work of the platelets (as mentioned above).

Platelets cause blood to clot where the wound was made and this is how the bleeding stops. They change their shape, turn on receptors, and secrete chemical messengers that allow them to connect with each other.

Although platelets are cells, they do not have a nucleus and, like all other blood cells, they are produced in the spinal cord. Only mammals have platelets in their blood and this is believed to be an evolutionary mechanism to reduce the risk of mammals dying from hemorrhages that are common at parturition.