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Human A&P BIO 304 · American River College ← Course home (Week 6)

BIO 304 . WEEK 6 . MONDAY . LAB WORKBOOK

Blood Composition and Hemopoiesis

Plasma, erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, and where all of them come from.

Print this page. You will draw your own diagrams from the directions below, then hand-label the structures listed. Drawing by hand is the integrity mechanism for this course.

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Part 1 of 2

Anatomy Lab

1A. What you will draw

Blood is a connective tissue with cells suspended in a fluid matrix (plasma). Today you'll draw a blood smear with all the cell types, then a hemopoiesis tree showing where each cell comes from.

Box A. Blood smear

Directions

  1. Draw a blood smear field as if seen through a microscope: lots of small biconcave discs and a few larger nucleated cells.
  2. Draw many red blood cells (erythrocytes): small, round, biconcave (pale center), no nucleus. Label.
  3. Draw one neutrophil: a leukocyte with a multi-lobed nucleus (3 to 5 lobes) connected by thin strands. Most common WBC. Label.
  4. Draw one lymphocyte: a leukocyte with a large round dark nucleus filling most of the cell, very thin rim of cytoplasm. Label.
  5. Draw one monocyte: a leukocyte with a kidney-shaped or horseshoe-shaped nucleus, larger than the others. Label.
  6. Draw one eosinophil: a leukocyte with a bilobed nucleus and pink-red cytoplasmic granules. Label.
  7. Draw a few platelets (thrombocytes): tiny irregular cell fragments, no nucleus. Label.
  8. In the background, write Plasma (the yellow fluid between cells, about 55% of blood volume). Label.

Box B. Hemopoiesis tree

Directions

  1. Draw a tree diagram starting at the top with a single cell: the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) in red bone marrow.
  2. Branch downward into two paths: myeloid lineage (left) and lymphoid lineage (right).
  3. Myeloid lineage produces: erythrocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes (which become macrophages), and platelets (from megakaryocytes).
  4. Lymphoid lineage produces: B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells.
  5. Draw arrows pointing down at each branch. Label every cell type.
  6. At the bottom of the tree, list which cell types END UP IN BLOOD vs which migrate elsewhere (e.g., T cells mature in the thymus, not in marrow).

1C. Structures to label (16)

After you finish each drawing, label every structure below directly on your sketch.

  1. Red blood cell (erythrocyte)
  2. Plasma
  3. Neutrophil
  4. Lymphocyte
  5. Monocyte
  6. Eosinophil
  7. Basophil
  8. Platelet (thrombocyte)
  9. Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)
  10. Myeloid lineage
  11. Lymphoid lineage
  12. Megakaryocyte
  13. Macrophage
  14. B lymphocyte
  15. T lymphocyte
  16. Natural killer cell

Part 2 of 2

Physiology Lab

2A. Match the cell to its job

For each function below, name the blood cell type responsible. Be specific where possible.

1. Carries oxygen from lungs to tissues using hemoglobin.
2. First responder to a bacterial infection; phagocytoses bacteria.
3. Long-term, antibody-based immune response.
4. Direct cell-mediated immunity, including killing virus-infected cells.
5. Fights parasitic infections and modulates allergic responses.
6. Releases histamine in allergic and inflammatory responses.
7. Becomes a tissue macrophage after leaving the bloodstream.
8. Forms the initial platelet plug at a site of vascular injury.

2B. Synthesis questions

Answer each in 2 to 4 sentences. Use the language from this week's lecture and your drawings as evidence.

1. Anemia is a deficiency of functional erythrocytes or hemoglobin. Predict the patient's symptoms (energy, exertion tolerance, skin color, heart rate) and explain why each occurs in terms of oxygen delivery.
2. Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cell precursors in the bone marrow. The marrow produces many non-functional cells, crowding out normal hemopoiesis. Predict consequences across all three blood cell lineages and explain why patients become both immunocompromised AND anemic AND prone to bleeding.
3. An athlete moves to high altitude (lower oxygen). Within weeks, their hematocrit (proportion of red cells) rises. Explain the mechanism, including which hormone signals this change and which organ produces it.

3. What to submit

Complete both the Anatomy Lab (your own drawings, hand-labeled, plus the structures list) and the Physiology Lab (activity and synthesis questions). Photograph or scan every page and upload to Canvas before the deadline listed on the schedule. Hand-drawn, hand-labeled work is the integrity mechanism for this course. Typed or AI-generated diagrams are not accepted.