Question

Explain how the structure of an erythrocytes allows it to carry out its function (200 words)

Answer 1

Red blood cells, also called erythrocytes, are the most abundant cell type in the blood. The primary function of red blood cells is to transport oxygen to body cells and deliver carbon dioxide to the lungs.

A red blood cell has a biconcave shape. This shape aids in a red blood cell's ability to move through tiny blood vessels to deliver oxygen to organs and tissues. Their flexible disc shape helps to increase the surface area-to-volume ratio of these extremely small cells. This enables oxygen and carbon dioxide to diffuse across the red blood cell's plasma membrane more readily.

Unlike other cells of the body, mature red blood cells do not contain a nucleus, mitochondria, or ribosomes. The absence of these cell structures leaves room for the hundreds of millions of hemoglobin molecules found in red blood cells.