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Definition: Blood Plasma |
Blood PlasmaNoun1. Plasma that separates from blood in coagulation. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Blood is made up of two fractions: blood cells, and the liquid in which they are suspended, blood plasma. Blood serum is blood plasma from which the clotting factors have been removed.Plasma resembles whey in appearance (transparent with a faint straw colour). It is mainly composed of water, proteins, and mineral salts. It serves as transport medium for glucose, lipids, hormones, products of metabolism, carbon dioxide and oxygen. (It should be noted that the oxygen transport capacity of plasma is insignificant compared to that of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells; it may however become relevant under hyperbaric conditions.) It is the storage and transport medium of clotting factors and its protein content is necessary to maintain the oncotic pressure of the blood.
For purposes of laboratory tests, plasma is obtained from whole blood. To prevent clotting, an anticoagulant such as citrate is added to the blood specimen immediately after it is obtained. The specimen is then centrifuged to separate plasma from blood cells. Plasma can be frozen below -80oC for subsequent analysis.
For many biochemical laboratory tests, plasma and blood serum can be used interchangeably. Serum resembles plasma in composition but lacks the coagulation factors. It is obtained by letting a blood specimen clot prior to centrifugation. For this purpose, a serum separating tube (SST) can be used which contains glass beads to facilitate clotting.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Blood plasma."
Crosswords: Blood Plasma |
| English words defined with "blood plasma": blood bank, blood transfusion ♦ calcitonin, congenital afibrinogenemia ♦ ECF, extracellular fluid ♦ factor I, factor II, fibrinogen ♦ haemoglobinemia, hemoglobinemia ♦ Liquor sanguinis ♦ plasma protein, prothrombin ♦ tetanus immune globulin, tetanus immunoglobulin, thyrocalcitonin, transfusion. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "blood plasma": Blood Products ♦ FREEZING-MACHINE OPERATOR ♦ Kidney Concentrating Ability ♦ laboratory assistant, lyophilisate ♦ Plasma Substitutes, pooling operator ♦ shell-freezing-machine operator, SIPHON OPERATOR. (references) |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
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| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Chemist Judith Turnlund and physical scientist William Keyes use thermal ionization mass spectrometry to measure trackable forms of copper, called stable isotopes, in blood plasma. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |  | Blood plasma, normally clear, turns milky white when levels of cholesterol and other fatty substances become to high. / WHO/NIH p. Credit: National Library of Medicine; photo by Jerry Hecht.. |
 | [Administering blood plasma in Korea]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | An American soldier wounded by shrapnel is being given blood plasma transfusion by Pfc. Harvey White, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in Sicily. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Production. Blood transfusion bottles. Rabbits too, aid the war effort. William Edwin Morris, histologist for Baxter Laboratories Inc., Glenview, Illinois, conducts research on blood plasma through experimentation on rabbits. The company prepares transfus. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Refsum disease is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of phytanic acid in blood plasma and tissues. (references) | |
Other treatments may include plasmapheresis (the removal and reinfusion of blood plasma), intravenous gammaglobulin, and cyclosporin. (references) | ||
Alternative treatments may include plasmapheresis (the removal and reinfusion of blood plasma), ketogenic diet (high fat, low carbohydrate), and steroids. (references) | ||
Economic History | Spain | Spain is particularly deficient in human blood plasma, and imports of antisera and blood fractions are expected to continue growing. (references) |
Spain | In 2000, U.S. imports comprised about 3.3 percent of all imports of antibiotics (HS2941) and 36.3 percent of all imports of blood plasma and components (HS3002). U.S. exports to Spain of blood plasma and components represent the bulk (about 90 percent) of all U.S. exports of fine chemicals to this market. (references) | |
Spain | Imports of fine chemicals in the year 2000 are reported to have grown 20 percent over 1999. Antibiotics and blood plasma are the two main imports, accounting for 22 and 46 percent of total imports respectively in the year 2000. Imports of provitamins/vitamins and derivates, represent another 10 percent of total imports. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
blood plasma | 79 |
blood plasma donation | 25 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "blood plasma"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Danish | blodplasma (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
Dutch | bloedplasma (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
Finnish | verineste. (various references) | |
French | plasma sanguin, plasma. (various references) | |
German | Blutplasma (plasm, plasma), Plasma sanguinis (plasm, plasma), Plasma (plasma). (various references) | |
Greek | πλάσμα αίματος (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
Hungarian | vérplazma (plasma). (various references) | |
Italian | plasma sanguigno (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 血漿 (plasma). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | けっしょう (crystal, crystallization, decision of a contest, finals, plasma). (various references) | |
Manx | plasmey folley. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | oodblay asmaplay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | plasma sanguíneo (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
Spanish | plasma sanguíneo (plasm, plasma). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-b-d-l-l-m-o-o-p-s" | |
-4 letters: aplombs, apollos, ballads, dollops, lambdas, lampads, osmolal. | |
-5 letters: abamps, abloom, abolla, abomas, adobos, alamos, aldols, allods, aplomb, apodal, apollo, ballad, balsam, bloods, blooms, bloops, doblas, dollop, dolmas, lambda, lampad, lampas, llamas, moolas, plasma, podsol, posada, saloop, slalom. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
