Glenn Elert
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The Physics Factbook™
Edited by Glenn Elert -- Written by his students
An educational, Fair Use website
topic index | author index | special index
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) | Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Taggart, Starr and Cecie Starr. Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life. California: Wadsworth, 1989: 398. | "On the average, an adult human male who weighs 70 kg. has a blood volume of about 5 liters, or a little more than 5 quarts." | 5 L |
| "Blood." World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, 1998: 407. | "An adult who weighs 160 pounds has about 5 quarts (4.7 liters) of blood." | 4.7 L |
| World Book Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center Medical Encyclopedia 7th edition. Chicago: World Book, 1995: 120-121. | "In an adult of average size there is a little less than 10 pints (4.7 l)." | 4.7 L |
| "Blood." Encyclopedia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1973. | "The body of an adult male contains about five litres of blood, that of a woman or a child less." | 5 L |
| New Book of Popular Science. Connecticut: Grolier, 1996: 197. | "In just a single day, the heart pumps the body's supply of blood-approx. 5 quarts (4.7 liters) in an average adult …." | 4.7 L |
In humans, blood is the fluid that transports nutrients andoxygen to every cell in the body. It also transports wastes awayfrom cells. Blood keeps our body temperature steady by carryingexcess heat from regions of the body to the skin where it canbe dissipated. It also fights infection and carries chemicalsthat regulate many body functions.
Blood is composed of a yellowish fluid, called plasma, in whichare suspended the millions of cells that constitute 45% by volumeof whole blood. A cubic millimeter of human blood contains about5 million red blood cells, or erythrocytes; 5,000 to 10,000 whiteblood cells or leukocytes; and 200,000 to 300,000 platelets orthrombocytes. The blood also carries many salts and organic substancesin solution in the blood plasma.
In an average healthy adult, the volume of blood is about one-eleventhof the body weight. Most sources state the volume of blood inan average human adult, who is between 150 to 160 pounds, as between4.7 and 5 liters, although the more recent sources state the volumeof blood in an average adult as 4.7 liters. Sources state thatan 80-pound child had about half that amount, and an 8-pound infanthas about 8.5 ounces. People who live at high altitudes, wherethe air contains less oxygen, may have up to 1.9 liters more bloodthan people who live in low altitude regions. The extra blooddelivers additional oxygen to body cells. The heart pumps allthe blood in the body each minute when the body is at rest.
According to a source from 1973, the volume of blood can bemeasured one of two ways. Each depends upon putting a known quantityof some substance in the body, and, after it has been distributeduniformly in the whole circulating fluid, measuring the degreeof dilution which has taken place. The substances most commonlyused then were carbon monoxide, Evans blue dye, and radioactivechromium.
LanNa Lee -- 1998
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) | Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron, John R.; James G. Skofronick & Roderick M. Grant. Physics of the Body. Second Edition. Madison, WI: Medical Physics Publishing, 1999: 182. | "Blood represents about 7% of the body mass or about 4.5 kg (volume ~ 4.4 liters) in a 64 kg (141 lb) person." | 4.4 L |
Editor's Supplement -- 2001
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