Akademik

Red blood cell

One of the blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide). Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment. It gives the cell its red color (and name). The commonly used abbreviation for red blood cell is RBC. A red blood cell is sometimes simply referred to as a red cell. It is also called an erythrocyte or, rarely today, a red blood corpuscle.

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red blood cell n any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and are responsible for the red color of vertebrate blood called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle compare WHITE BLOOD CELL

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see erythrocyte

Medical dictionary. 2011.