The blood...

The blood...

While we are getting closer and closer to a highlight of the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the tune that keeps flooding my mind is, "Nothing but the blood".

Christ died that I might live...he shed his blood for me and anyone else...
He loved me before I even knew him...
He arose from the grave that I might live...
He ascended into heaven to prepare a place for believers...
He is alive...

We celebrate his death and resurrection with communion, in rememberance...

But, the shed blood...oh that blood, that life we have through it...
So as I was thinking about that, the pastor talks about the importance of blood to our bodies...
One thing....It brings in good things and takes out the waste...what a wonderful description of Christ's forgiveness...he replaces our old life with new...gives us the Holy Spirit...He transforms us, renewing us daily...

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2


Another, it fights infection...Jesus helps us fight our battles...with his Word, Himself...he helps carry the burdens...
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
Psalm 68:19

I know these maybe stretches in descriptions, but it was interesting to see the functions and there are more...cells need the messages carried by the blood...etc. etc...the comparisons many...

But, we need Christ's blood in a spiritual way...as well as a physical way...I love that the Word is so descriptive...powerful...saving...it is hard to wrap my mind around it all...there is something new everyday... Thank YOU...

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 26:26-28


I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:18-23









http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/why-is-blood-important-4118.html


Blood is a body fluid that delivers essential substances like nutrients and oxygen to the cells of the body. Blood also transports carbon dioxide and other waste products away from the cells, to the lungs, kidneys, and digestive system; from there they are removed from the body. In addition, the blood also helps fight infection in open cuts in the body.

Our body has billions of cells that need regular supply of fuel and oxygen to function. Blood meets these requirements and ensures proper functioning of cells, thus, also making sure that our body keeps in good health. It might interest you that an average adult human body has about five liters of blood.

Blood in our bodies is pumped by the heart through a network of arteries and veins. It is interesting to note that even the heart cannot survive without blood flowing through the vessels that bring nourishment to its muscular walls.

Having said that, it is anybody’s guess, we can't live without blood. Without blood, we couldn't keep warm or cool off, we couldn't fight infections, and we couldn't get rid of our own waste products.

Blood, therefore, is a vital body fluid – lifeline of a body that performs many important functions.

Functions of Blood
• Blood performs important functions, some of which are as under:-
• Supply of oxygen to cells / tissues
• Supply of nutrients such as glucose, amino acids and fatty acids Removal of waste such as carbon dioxide, urea and lactic acid
• Making body immune by circulation of white cells, and detection of foreign material by antibodies
• Regulation of core body temperature
• Hydraulic functions
• Aiding body's self-repair mechanism by Coagulation
• Messenger functions like transportation of hormones and the signaling of tissue damage
• Regulation of body pH (the normal pH of blood - 7.35 - 7.45)
Composition of Blood

The blood that flows through a network of veins and arteries is called whole blood. Whole blood contains three types of blood cells which are as under:
• Red blood cells (also called RBCs or erythrocytes) – contain iron rich protein called hemoglobin, giving blood its characteristic red color.
• White blood cells (also called WBCs or leukocytes) – help fighting diseases.
• Platelets (also called thrombocytes) – help in blood clotting.
These blood cells are mostly manufactured in the bone marrow, especially in the bone marrow of bones that make up the spine (vertebrae), ribs, pelvis, skull, and breastbone (sternum). Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside our bones.

These cells that make up the whole blood travel through the circulatory system suspended in a yellowish fluid called plasma. Plasma is 90% water and contains nutrients, proteins, hormones, and waste products. Whole blood is a mixture of blood cells and plasma.

In addition to the cells mentioned above, the blood also contains clotting factors and other important substances, such as nutrients from the food that has been processed by the digestive system. Also, the hormones released by endocrine glands are present in the blood which carries them to the body parts that need them.

Blood Clotting – An important mechanism to heal wounds
Blood, in addition to platelets, also contains important proteins called clotting factors. These clotting factors are vital for the process of blood clotting. Although platelets alone can plug leaks in small blood vessels and even temporarily stop / slow down bleeding, the action of clotting factors is needed to produce a strong, stable clot.

Platelets work with clotting factors to form solid lumps that seal leaks, wounds, cuts, and scratches and prevent bleeding inside and on the surfaces of our bodies.

However, when large blood vessels are severed, the body may not be able to repair itself through blood clotting process alone. Dressings or stitches, in addition to body own blood clotting mechanism, are used to help control bleeding in such cases.

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The smallest blood vessels measure only five micrometers. To give you some perspective, a strand of human hair measures about 17 micrometers.
But if you took all the blood vessels out of an average child and laid them out in one line, the line would stretch over 60,000 miles. An adult’s would be closer to 100,000 miles long.

https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/blood/blood_components.htm
Blood Components

Normally, 7-8% of human body weight is from blood.  In adults, this amounts to 4.5-6 quarts of blood.  This essential fluid carries out the critical functions of transporting oxygen and nutrients to our cells and getting rid of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and other waste products.  In addition, it plays a vital role in our immune system and in maintaining a relatively constant body temperature.  Blood is a highly specialized tissue composed of more than 4,000 different kinds of components.  Four of the most important ones are red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma.  All humans produce these blood components--there are no populational or regional differences.

Red Cells



Human erythrocytes or "red cells"
(cell diameter about .0003 inches)
Red cells, or erythrocytes , are relatively large microscopic cells without nuclei.  In this latter trait, they are similar to the primitive prokaryotic cells of bacteria.  Red cells normally make up 40-50% of the total blood volume.  They transport oxygen from the lungs to all of the living tissues of the body and carry away carbon dioxide.  The red cells are produced continuously in our bone marrow from stem cells at a rate of about 2-3 million cells per second.   Hemoglobin is the gas transporting protein molecule that makes up 95% of a red cell.  Each red cell has about 270,000,000 iron-rich hemoglobin molecules.  People who are anemic generally have a deficiency in red cells, and subsequently feel fatigued due to a shortage of oxygen.  The red color of blood is primarily due to oxygenated red cells.  Human fetal hemoglobin molecules differ from those produced by adults in the number of amino acid chains.  Fetal hemoglobin has three chains, while adults produce only two.  As a consequence, fetal hemoglobin molecules attract and transport relatively more oxygen to the cells of the body.

White Cells
White cells, or leukocytes , exist in variable numbers and types but make up a very small part of blood's volume--normally only about 1% in healthy people.  Leukocytes are not limited to blood.  They occur elsewhere in the body as well, most notably in the spleen, liver, and lymph glands.  Most are produced in our bone marrow from the same kind of stem cells that produce red blood cells.  Others are produced in the thymus gland, which is at the base of the neck.  Some white cells (called lymphocytes ) are the first responders for our immune system.  They seek out, identify, and bind to alien protein on bacteria, viruses, and fungi so that they can be removed.  Other white cells (called granulocytes and macrophages ) then arrive to surround and destroy the alien cells.  They also have the function of getting rid of dead or dying blood cells as well as foreign matter such as dust and asbestos.  Red cells remain viable for only about 4 months before they are removed from the blood and their components recycled in the spleen.  Individual white cells usually only last 18-36 hours before they also are removed, though some types live as much as a year.  The description of white cells presented here is a simplification.  There are actually many specialized sub-types of them that participate in different ways in our immune responses.

Platelets

erythrocyte (left), thrombocyte
(center), and leukocyte (right)
Platelets , or thrombocytes , are cell fragments without nuclei that work with blood clotting chemicals at the site of wounds.  They do this by adhering to the walls of blood vessels, thereby plugging the rupture in the vascular wall.  They also can release coagulating chemicals which cause clots to form in the blood that can plug up narrowed blood vessels.  Thirteen different blood clotting factors, in addition to platelets, need to interact for clotting to occur.  They do so in a cascading manner, one factor triggering another.  Hemophiliacs lack the ability to produce either blood factor 8 or 9.
Platelets are not equally effective in clotting blood throughout the entire day.  The body's circadian rhythm system (its internal biological clock) causes the peak of platelet activation in the morning.  This is one of the main reasons that strokes and heart attacks are more common in the morning.
Recent research has shown that platelets also help fight infections by releasing proteins that kill invading bacteria and some other microorganisms.  In addition, platelets stimulate the immune system.  Individual platelets are about 1/3 the size of red cells.  They have a lifespan of 9-10 days.  Like the red and white blood cells, platelets are produced in bone marrow from stem cells.

Plasma
Plasma is the relatively clear, yellow tinted water (92+%), sugar, fat, protein and salt solution which carries the red cells, white cells, and platelets.  Normally, 55% of our blood's volume is made up of plasma.  As the heart pumps blood to cells throughout the body, plasma brings nourishment to them and removes the waste products of metabolism.  Plasma also contains blood clotting factors, sugars, lipids, vitamins, minerals, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and other proteins.  It is likely that plasma contains some of every protein produced by the body--approximately 500 have been identified in human plasma so far.
https://www.gold-traders.co.uk/gold-information/how-much-gold-is-found-in-the-human-body.asp
The human body is composed of many elements, including Gold in trace amounts.
According the technical treatise, The Elements Third Edition, written by John Emsley and published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford in 1998, the average person's body weighing 70 kilograms would contain a total mass of 0.2 milligrams of gold. The volume of this gold in purified form would be 10 nanoliters. If this refined gold were formed into a solid cube of purified gold, the measurement of each side of the cube would be 0.22 millimeters.
By comparison, the human body contains 43 kilograms of oxygen, the most abundant element in the earth, as well as the human body. Other elements found in the human body include 16 kilograms of carbon and 7 kilograms of hydrogen.
While the role of gold in the physiological processes of the human body was unknown for many years, it has recently been determined that gold plays a role in both the health and maintenance of the joints, as well as being a key element in the transmittal of electrical signals throughout the body. Of interesting note, the human body contains 1.0 gram of Silicon. This element is commonly found in the presence of gold in nature and its metabolic function is currently unknown.