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0:00
The title of this talk
is Artificial Blood.
By way of introduction,
my name is Dr. Mark T. Friedman,
Medical Director of the
Transfusion Service and
Associate Professor of Pathology
at NYU Langone Health,
Grossman NYU Long
Island School of
Medicine in Long
Island, New York.
0:20
What is blood? Blood is
a complex body fluid that is
composed of four
main constituents.
Red blood cells, which we
also call erythrocytes.
White blood cells or leukocytes.
These consist of
the granulocytes,
the lymphocytes
and the monocytes.
Platelets, also known
as thrombocytes.
Plasma, which is the liquid
portion of the blood.
0:48
What are the functions of blood?
Blood has many functions.
It transports oxygen,
carbon dioxide,
nutrients, hormones
and waste products.
It regulates body temperature.
It regulates fluid, electrolyte,
and acid-base balances
that's pH balances.
It functions in coagulation
to halt bleeding
and fibrinolysis,
that is clot breakdown
after hemostasis,
and it acts in
inflammatory and immune
functions to fight infections.
1:22
What is artificial blood,
which is the title of
this talk after all.
Essentially, artificial blood
or blood substitutes are
synthetic oxygen
carriers that are
designed to increase
tissue oxygenation.
Therefore, they do not replace
all functions of blood.
They are more correctly termed
oxygen therapeutic agents.
That is because again,
they do not replace all the
functions of the blood,
only the tissue
oxygenation component.
