Interesting facts about human blood. Interesting about human blood

10. Primitive experiments

In the 17th century, human blood was considered "the essence of life and useful only because of its supposed mental effects". Because of this belief, it took nearly 200 years before blood was used as a tool. replacement therapy while treating a British woman who was suffering from postpartum hemorrhage.

This achievement in medicine was preceded by years of experimentation, when various other liquids were used instead of blood. First intravenous injection occurred in London in 1657, when Christopher Wren injected ale and wine into a dog's vein.

The dog got tipsy, and the experiment was considered a success. Eight years later, the first animal-to-animal blood transfusion was performed when Richard Lower used two dogs as subjects of his research. After a small dog was bled to near death, Lower opened an artery in a large mastiff and transfused blood from it into the bled animal. In doing so, Lower demonstrated that transfusion was vital to the restoration of the circulatory system. This led to a series of experiments that took place throughout Europe over the next three centuries.

9 Cadaverous Blood

Before the Austrian physician Karl Landsteiner discovered the existence of blood groups in 1901, blood transfusions often led to tragic consequences. This medical breakthrough saved countless lives in the trenches during World War I.

Direct and rapid blood transfusions on the battlefield were essential for survival, but over the next two decades, scientists pondered how to learn how to store blood long enough for later use and not urgently look for a donor.

In 1930, Soviet scientists Vladimir Shamov and Sergei Yudin discovered that cadaveric blood could be stored for a short time. However, its viability was still in question.

On March 23, 1930, Yudin performed the first transfusion of cadaveric blood into a living patient. This procedure was successful, though questionable given the source. However, refrigerated blood storage centers have been established throughout Russia, paving the way for contemporary practice long-term storage preserved blood.

8. Crisis prevention

In 1938, the onset of World War II seemed imminent. In the same year, Brigadier Lionel Whitby was appointed director of the UK's autonomous blood transfusion service, which provided blood to military personnel from its centralized warehouses.

Three years later, the United States realized that they could not transport American blood by air to Europe or Africa, which caused a shortage of it in American troops fighting far from their homeland. As a result, Whitby faced the daunting task of providing blood to both armies at a time when blood supplies were running low.

To ensure that American soldiers would not suffer from a lack of blood on the battlefield due to British troops having priority in getting it, President Franklin Roosevelt threatened Winston S. Churchill with the bankruptcy of the British Empire. Apparently, Roosevelt's blackmail was heard, as Churchill gave the order to provide British blood to both armies. Western countries.

This continued until the spring of 1945, when the Allies mastered the technique of storing and transporting blood. In total, almost 50,000 liters of blood were sent abroad. The events that took place during this time led to the emergence of National Service blood transfusions, and Brigadier Whitby was awarded a knighthood.

7. Donated blood

In 1984, three years after the first case of AIDS, HIV was found to be the cause. The following year, American blood banks began using screening tests to detect the virus. However, the technology did not meet the necessary requirements for the determination of viral antigens and antibodies.

By 1993, the number of Americans who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion was 1,098. It exposed a vulnerability in public health that few people knew about and led to the realization that HIV and AIDS are not just a disease of homosexuals. The new data sowed growing distrust of state and public institutions, they challenged the entire health infrastructure of the country, including biomedical and behavioral research.

Despite today's advances in developing effective HIV testing methods, even the most sensitive screening technologies for donated blood cannot detect the virus during the first week after infection. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 16 million blood donations each year in the country that go to hospitals and public blood banks. This number accounts for approximately 11 cases of infected blood and 20 cases of HIV-infected blood components. This has the potential to infect many recipients of donated blood.

6. Fatalities

When Tejano star Selena Quintanilla was fatally shot by Yolanda Saldívar in March 1995, it sparked a debate about whether her death could have been prevented. When the 23-year-old was bleeding to death, her father tried to stop doctors from transfusing her blood, according to court documents. religious beliefs Jehovah's Witnesses. However, doctors have dying singer three liters of blood, but this did not save her.

Such tragic but preventable cases are commonplace among Jehovah's Witnesses, who believe that taking the blood of another person is as sinful as an extramarital affair. According to their interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles, one who does not keep the Scriptures is deprived of divine love and becomes unworthy of resurrection.

This belief has led to countless unnecessary deaths of faithful followers of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States. Just as Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to refuse blood transfusions, doctors have the right to remain inactive if surgery cannot be performed without a transfusion. According to the surgeon Lyell Gorenstein, to do the operation with the possible profuse bleeding without the possibility of a transfusion is like performing a deadly acrobatic act without insurance.

5. France, 1667

In 1667, a 15-year-old boy in France bled himself a lot as a result of a desire to improve his health. As a result, in addition to his past ailments, he began to suffer from severe blood loss. This prompted Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denis to perform the first documented human blood transfusion using sheep blood.

Surprisingly, the boy survived. The second experiment of Dr. Denis also ended successfully. In the third case, with the patient Antoine Maurois, things went from bad to worse. A mentally ill Parisian, Maurois, who roamed the streets naked and shouting obscenities, was forced by Dr. Denis to undergo a transfusion.

After the third infusion of calf's blood into M. Morois, the patient died, and Dr. Denis was accused of murder. After a long trial, the doctor was rehabilitated, but it was decided that blood transfusions would no longer be performed in France without the approval of the Paris Medical Faculty.

4. Street transfusions

In the village of Delmas in the South African province of Mpumalanga, drug dealers roam the streets in broad daylight, and drug addicts number in the tens of thousands. The most commonly used drug is a mixture called "nyaope" because it is very effective and incredibly cheap, only $2 per dose.

This white powdery substance is a mixture of marijuana, low-grade heroin, rat poison and household chemical cleaners. It can be smoked, but most often it is dissolved in water and injected into a vein - to achieve more lasting effects.

3. Blood for gold

Before William Harvey created his theory of blood circulation in 1628, it was believed that drinking the blood of another person could be beneficial both in medicine and in a spiritual context. During the time of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, spectators drank the blood of dying gladiators, believing that they would thereby acquire their courage and strength.

Perhaps the most absurd case resulting from this archaic and erroneous belief occurred in 1492, when the first recorded blood transfusion attempt was made, described by Stefano Infessura. After Pope Innocent VIII fell into a coma, three ten year old boys promised to give a ducat (gold coin) in exchange for their blood.

When the children's veins were opened, blood was poured into the pontiff through the mouth. Not surprisingly, this procedure was not successful and led to the death of all three boys, as well as the Pope himself.

2. Change of soul

As we have said, the first human blood transfusion was performed in 1667 by Dr. Denis using sheep's blood. The choice of sheep was not random, nor was it related to the convenience and availability of sheep blood at a time of crisis.

In reality, a variety of animals were used as blood providers, based on factors related to the characteristics of both the individual animal and the individual. In the 17th century, it was believed that receiving someone else's blood changes the soul and endows the recipient with those various traits that the donor has shown in his life.

Therefore, the doctors who conducted such experiments sought to find a balance between two different personalities in order to create a person with more uniform characteristics. If a patient in need of a transfusion was known to have a violent temper, the ideal animal was the tender lamb, whose blood was believed to bring calm to an agitated soul.

On the other hand, if the patient was reserved or timid, in order to make the shy person more sociable, the blood of the most sociable beings was chosen.

1. Fountain of youth

In the 17th century, a German physician suggested that the infusion of "hot and strong blood young man can become a source of youth. This idea was picked up and tried to be implemented by the Soviet doctor Alexander Bogdanov in 1924. He began injecting "young blood" into his own veins.

Bogdanov, who is said to be the founder of the world's first institution entirely dedicated to the field of blood transfusion, concluded that he had discovered effective method life extension. In fact, after every transfusion Bogdanov gave himself, he insisted that his health was definitely improving.

The Soviet doctor's naive attempt to become immortal eventually ended up with the blood he transfused into his body being contaminated with malaria and tuberculosis, causing his death. Interestingly, Bogdanov's theory may not be too far off the mark, according to a 2014 study published in the journal Nature Medicine.

According to the researchers, young blood, which was injected into old mice, sharpened the rodents' reactions, spatial thinking and memory. The study showed that blood can carry anti-aging properties that can improve learning and thinking.

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One of critical systems the human body is the cardiovascular system. It circulates blood, without which our life is impossible. Consider interesting facts about human blood.

1. The heart of an adult pumps almost 10 thousand liters of blood in one day. With one heartbeat, it ejects approximately 130 milliliters into the aorta.

2. In calm state body, the blood in it is distributed as follows: a quarter of the total volume is located in the kidneys and muscles, 15% is in vascular system intestinal walls, 13% moves in the vessels of the lungs and other organs, 10% is located in the liver, 8% circulates in the brain, 4% is contained in the cardiac coronary vessels.

3. The adaptation of Tibetans to life in the highlands is explained by the increased content of hemoglobin in their blood. This is ensured by the presence of the EPAS1 gene allele in their genome. Such an adaptation has not been noted in any other people. The only exception was the Denisovan genome, in which the same allele was found. Denisovans are not classified either with Homo Sapiens or even with Neanderthals. The most probable is the hypothesis of the interbreeding of Denisovans with the predecessors of the Chinese and Tibetans that took place many millennia ago. In later times, the Chinese living on the plains lost this allele as unnecessary, it was preserved only among the Tibetans.

4. Old blood cells die and are replaced by new ones. Every hour in an adult, 5 billion white blood cells, 2 billion platelets and 1 billion red blood cells die. They are replaced by new cells produced by the bone marrow and spleen. About 25 grams of blood undergoes daily renewal.

5. Average weight bone marrow of an adult is 2600 grams. For 70 years of human life, it produces 650 kilograms of red blood cells and almost a ton of white blood cells.

6. Through the vessels of the brain, blood flows in a volume of 740-750 milliliters within one minute.

7. The human body functions normally if the movement of blood through the vessels is in a continuous stream, and not in jerks. This was proved by the medical history of the American Craig Lewis, whom even an electronic pacemaker could not save from a heart disease. After the removal of the patient's heart, he was connected to a different type of apparatus that provided continuous blood circulation throughout his body. Craig Lewis lived without a pulse for five weeks - his ECG was a straight line. The cause of Lewis's death was liver failure due to amyloidosis, and this had nothing to do with the implanted apparatus.

8. The total area of ​​all human alveoli that supply blood to the lungs is equal to the area of ​​a tennis court. And the number of alveoli in both lungs reaches 700 million pieces.

9. Normal frequency the pulse of a person in a calm state is considered to be 60-80 beats / min. It is noted that the heart rate in women exceeds the heart rate of men by 6-8 beats. heavy exercise stress capable of accelerating the pulse to over 200 beats per minute. It is interesting to compare - a mouse has a pulse rate of 500 beats per minute, a rabbit - 200, a frog - 30 and an elephant - only 20.

10. The only part human body, which does not have circulatory system to supply it with oxygen - this is the cornea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eye. Since it must be perfectly transparent, its cells are provided with oxygen dissolved in tears directly from the air.

11. Telling interesting facts about human blood, it is interesting to note that the liquid contained inside green coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.

12. Blood banks first appeared during World War II. The pioneer of this business was the American Charles Drew. In cruel irony, he died in 1950 as a result of blood loss after a car accident.

13. Human blood has a red color due to the iron it contains, which acts as an oxygen carrier. Some types of spiders have blood of blue color, since copper serves as a carrier of oxygen in it.

14. Total length all blood vessels human body - about 100 thousand kilometers. Recall that the distance between New York and Moscow is only 7,500 km.

Interesting video about human blood:

June 14 is World Donor Day, dedicated to the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian scientist who first divided blood into groups. This discovery marked a new stage in the development of medicine. In general, blood has long been attributed to various medicinal properties. And some even argue that the fate of a person directly depends on the blood type.

life flow

In ancient times, blood symbolized the flow of life. It was believed that the blood is able to make the earth more fertile, as it contains part of the divine energy. Blood (later red paint) was smeared on the foreheads of seriously ill patients, women in labor and newborns to give them vitality. In Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions wine is used for communion, symbolizing the blood of Christ.

For example, erythrocytes are also called red blood cells because they contain hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color. Hemoglobin ensures the fulfillment main function erythrocytes - transport of gases, in particular oxygen. Red blood cells are shaped like biconcave discs, which is why many say they resemble the shape of a donut without the hole. Erythrocytes circulate in the blood for 120 days and then are destroyed in the liver and spleen.

Platelets are colorless, oval or rod-shaped bodies that play a key role in the blood clotting process and protect the body from significant blood loss during cuts and wounds. Their life expectancy is much less than erythrocytes - only 8-10 days.

White blood cells or leukocytes - part immune system organism. Their main function is protective. They are involved in immune responses and are the main "fighters" against viruses and harmful substances. Normally, there are much fewer leukocytes in the blood than other elements. If their number exceeds the specified values, then this means that an infection has entered the body. The life expectancy of leukocytes is different: from several hours and days to several years.

"Blood type on a sleeve"

It's no secret that there are four blood types in total. They were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by the Austrian scientist Karl Landsteiner, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930. And in 1940, Landsteiner, together with other scientists Wiener and Levine, discovered the "Rh factor".

Belonging to a certain blood group does not change throughout life. Although science knows one fact of changing the blood type. This incident happened to the Australian girl Demi-Lee Brennan. After a liver transplant, her Rh factor changed from negative to positive. This event excited the public, including doctors and scientists.

There are several divisions human blood to groups, but highest value has a division of blood into four groups according to the "AB0" system and into two groups - according to the "rhesus" system. The four blood groups are designated by symbols: I(0), II(A), III(B), IV(AB). So, blood type I (0) is the most common - it is found in 45% of people on Earth. II (A) blood group prevails among Europeans - its carriers are about 35% of people. III (B) blood type is less numerous - it can be found in only 13% of people. most rare group blood is IV(AB) - occurs in only 7% of people.

Some scientists hold a rather interesting opinion. They believe that the fate of a person directly depends on blood type. A lot of research is being done around the world on this topic. In Japan, for example, it is believed that blood determines the character and characteristics of a person to a greater extent than the signs of the zodiac. According to vanicon.ru, blood tests and recording are called "ketsu-eki-gata" in Japan.

The Japanese are sure that the owners of the I blood group are sociable, emotional and energetic people. People with blood group II are more stress-resistant, patient, love harmony and order, but are somewhat stubborn. Impressive, demanding, powerful and creative individuals are people with III group blood. People with a rare IV group in life are guided by feelings, balanced, indecisive and harsh.

"Bloody" diet

Some see a relationship between blood type and diet. For example, owners of the most ancient blood group (I) are advised to follow a high-protein diet - eat meat (except pork), fish and seafood. Vegetables and fruits are useful for any, except for sour ones. It is best to avoid wheat and wheat products, corn in the diet, according to abc-your-health.com.

But people with the II blood group are prone to oncological diseases, anemia, diseases of the heart, liver and stomach. They are advised to follow vegetarian diet- limit the use of dairy products, replace them with soy, eat cereals, fruits and fish.

It is believed that people with III group blood with an improper diet, instability to rare viral diseases, syndrome chronic fatigue. Therefore, they are advised to follow balanced diet- eat meat (except poultry), eggs, cereals, vegetables (except corn, tomatoes), fruits. Seafood is not recommended.

The "youngest" blood type is IV, its owners are not advised to get involved in seafood, nuts, cereals, vegetables and non-acidic fruits.

The material was prepared by the online editors of www.rian.ru on the basis of information from open sources.

1. Blood makes up about six to eight percent of the mass of the human body. AT children's body a little more blood - about nine percent.

2. 55% of blood is plasma, that is, liquid, and 45% are blood cells that are transported by this plasma - erythrocytes, platelets and leukocytes.

3. Blood plasma is 90% water, the other 10% is various salts, enzymes, lipids, hormones, glucose.

4. There are approximately 35 billion leukocyte cells in human blood, which perform protective function. If you line them up in one row, you get a line 525 km long.

5. Platelets are slightly larger than leukocytes. Their number in the body is 1250 billion pieces, and the chain laid out of them would have a length of 2500 km. The lifespan of a platelet is only 8-10 days.

6. The human heart pumps from seven to ten thousand liters of blood per day, depending on body weight.

7. Although mankind has long made assumptions that different people the composition of blood can vary significantly, blood groups were discovered only in 1930. Karl Landsteiner got for it Nobel Prize. The Rh factor was discovered in 1940 by the same Landsteiner with the scientists Wiener and Leweiner.

8. In Christianity, they drink red wine during communion. This symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ.

9. The red color of the blood is given by erythrocytes, and they, in turn, are hemoglobin, which includes iron. Over a lifetime, a person produces about 650 kg of red blood cells.

10. adult heart healthy person capable of pumping 10,000 liters of blood in just one day.

11. Doctors have proven that, who has no pulse, can live. This fact was proven during the treatment of Craig Lewis, a resident of America. The pacemaker didn't help him. It was decided to remove the heart, and instead of this organ, connect an apparatus that would circulate blood in a continuous stream. The patient is alive, but he has no pulse, and on ECG result a solid line was drawn.

12. The Japanese are sure that what kind of character a person has directly depends on what kind of blood type he has. If the blood of the first group flows in the veins of a person, then he is self-confident and decisive. If the second is a reliable and reserved person. If he is endowed with the third group, it is believed that such a person is ambitious and smart, and the fourth blood type means balanced. The Japanese will believe this so strongly that you may even be denied a job just because you have the wrong blood type.

13. Fish that live in Antarctic waters have colorless blood. It lacks hemoglobin and red blood cells. It is thanks to such an unusual structure of the circulatory system that these fish can exist in water whose temperature is below the freezing point of water.

14. James Harrison lives in Australia, he is 74 years old. Throughout his life, he donated blood about 1,000 times. The thing is that he has a rather rare blood type, but the main thing is that it contains antibodies that help newborns with severe anemia survive. Due to the fact that a man surrenders donated blood This has saved the lives of approximately two million babies.

15. Everyone in childhood was told that if you put a shell to your ear, you will hear the sound of the sea. Naturally, we do not hear the sound of the sea at all, but the sounds of the environment around us and the sounds from the human body resonating in the cavities of the shell. One of these noises is the flow of blood through the vessels. We will hear exactly the same noise if we put a bent palm to our ear.

June 14 is World Donor Day, dedicated to the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian scientist who first divided blood into groups.

The body of an adult contains on average 6-8% of blood from total weight. True, the average amount of blood in the body of a child is slightly larger and amounts to 8-9%. The blood moves along human body With different speed. It flows fastest through the arteries - 1.8 km per hour. Average volume blood in an adult male - 5000-6000 ml.

James Harrison, 74, has donated blood nearly 1,000 times in his lifetime. Antibodies in his rare blood type help newborns with severe form anemia. In total, thanks to Harrison's donation, according to rough estimates, more than 2 million babies were saved.

The loss of a quarter of the volume of blood from the vessels poses a threat to life. When damaged large vessel death comes faster, but not from blood loss, but from an instant fall blood pressure and anoxia of the brain and myocardium.

A person can function normally if the blood through the vessels does not go in jerks, but in a continuous stream. This was proved by the doctors of the American Craig Lewis, who was dying of a heart disease - even an electronic pacemaker could not save his life. As a result, the patient's heart was removed, but connected to a different type of device that helps blood continuously circulate through his body. Lewis lived five weeks in literally without a pulse, and his EKG had been a straight line all along. The cause of his death was liver failure due to amyloidosis, which was not related to the implanted apparatus.

It is believed that women, on average, are much less afraid of blood than men. This is due to the fact that women have to regularly see menstrual blood.

Our blood is red because it is full of red blood cells - erythrocytes. Red color is given to them by iron, which is part of hemoglobin. Red blood cells help produce gas exchange between tissues. The life of these cells lasts about 120 days, after which they are destroyed in the liver and spleen.

The protective function of the blood is carried out by leukocytes, or white blood cells. They are playing leading role in the specific and nonspecific protection of the body from external and internal pathogenic agents, as well as in the implementation of typical pathological processes. The life span of these cells ranges from a few days to several years.

Another guest of our blood is platelets, or colorless bodies. These cells are responsible for blood clotting. They live in the body for only 8-10 days.

Produces new blood cells Bone marrow. This unique organ weighs an average of about two and a half kilograms and in 70 years of life manages to produce about a ton of leukocytes and 650 kilograms of red blood cells.

An adult's heart pumps about 10,000 liters of blood per day! One heartbeat pushes about 130 milligrams of blood into the artery. BUT total length blood vessels in the human body is about 100,000 km.

There are several divisions of human blood into groups, but the most important is the division of blood into four groups according to the "AB0" system and into two groups - according to the "Rhesus" system. The four blood groups are designated by symbols: I(0), II(A), III(B), IV(AB). So, blood type I (0) is the most common - it is found in 45% of people on Earth. II (A) blood type prevails among Europeans - about 35% of people are its carriers. III (B) blood type is less numerous - it can be found in only 13% of people. The rarest blood type is IV (AB) - found in only 7% of people.

People with blood group 1 are universal donors, and people with blood group 4 are universal recipients.

Hemophilia or poor clotting blood - a disease that was called "royal" or "Victorian". Due to incestuous marriages between European rulers, it spread to many royal houses. The most famous carrier of hemophilia in history was Queen Victoria, who laid the foundation for it many centuries ago.

Among different nationalities and races, blood groups are unevenly distributed. So, 80% of the Indians have I blood group, III prevails among Asians, and II among the inhabitants of northern Europe.

A blood stain can be used to recognize a criminal in the same way as fingerprints.

Some species of toad-like lizards, when under extreme danger from a predator, use a unique defense mechanism: shoot him with their blood from the corners of his eyes at a distance of one and a half meters.

Ice fish, or whitefish, live in the waters of Antarctica. This is the only vertebrate species that does not have red blood cells and hemoglobin in its blood - therefore, the blood of ice fish is colorless. Their metabolism is based only on oxygen dissolved directly in the blood. This structure of the circulatory system allowed white bloods to exist in a habitat with a temperature below the freezing point of water.