Transcript White blood cells

What is Lactic Acid? - An explanation of how Lactic acid is formed and how it
affects participation in sport.
All about Anaerobic Metabolism - A page telling us about what Anaerobic
Metabolism is and how effective this system is.
Different types of Blood Vessels - An explanation on the main types of blood
vessels, Arteries, Capillaries and Veins.
What is the blood made up of? - It covers the 3 main types of blood cells present in
the body and gives a short description of plasma also.
All about oxygen debt - An explanation and example of what oxygen debt is, and also
a brief description of tolerance to the build up of lactic acid.
All about Recovery Rate - Technical explanation of what recovery rate is and
examples of how it affects both high intensity athletes and endurance athletes.
FACT SHEET - A number of various interesting facts.
Lactic acid is a by – product of anaerobic activity e.g a 400 metre run.
If enough oxygen is not available, then the lactic acid is produced and it begins to build
up in the muscles.
When you feel your muscles burning during high intensity exercise this is caused by the
lactic acid, it stops the muscles working to the best possible standard.
You can reduce the lactic acid build up faster if you perform light exercise after an
intense effort, also known as a cool down.
LACTIC ACID AND HOW IT AFFECTS PERFORMANCE!
•It reduces the ability to perform at maximum potential.
•It Inhibits skilful muscle contraction.
•Can create aches and pains and cause injury.
Some examples of anaerobic activity, and chances for Lactic acid build up are:
Long Jump, high jump, javelin, shot put and discus, explosive activity.
Also it can be seen in game situations, I.e. sprinting, jumping, shooting.
During most exercise breathing rates increase and in turn increase the amount
of oxygen through the body.
During aerobic exercise this increased oxygen is enough to meet your energy
needs. During intense efforts, however there is enough oxygen available to the
body but it cannot continue using the aerobic system to create energy.
At this point you switch to anaerobic metabolism which is also known as
glycolysis. Glycolysis literally means the breaking down of Glucose, one step at a
time into different molecules.
Why Anaerobic Metabolism doesn’t last!
This system works without oxygen to supply energy to the muscles for a few
minutes of high intensity effort. The downside to this, however, is that you will
soon feel your muscles burning and be forced to decrease your intensity and
return to the aerobic system.
The heart pumps blood through the arteries, capillaries and veins, carrying nutrients
from digested food and oxygen to every cell in the body. The blood also removes carbon
dioxide and waste products.
Arteries - The largest and thickest of the blood vessels, these carry blood from the
heart to all cells in the body. The largest artery is called the aorta. This originates from
the heart and then branches out into smaller arteries.
Capillaries - The smallest blood vessels. It is in the capillaries that the exchange of
oxygen and carbon dioxide take place. This takes place via diffusion and it is easier to
diffuse 1 cell than a number of cells at a time.
Veins – These are similar to arteries but not quite as strong. Very small veins called
venules receive blood from the capillaries after the exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide has taken place.
Everyone’s blood is made up of fluid called plasma and 3 types of blood cells, Red,
White and Platelets.
Plasma - Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood, it is clear, yellow fluid, and 90% of it
is made up of water, and the rest salts. The Red and White Blood cells travel through
the body in the plasma.
Red blood cells - Their functions are to carry oxygen from the lungs to the cells around
the body and also to remove the waste product of carbon dioxide.
Platelets - These are the smallest of all the blood cells. They are irregularly shaped,
they are colourless and their sticky surface is their main feature. This surface allows
clots to form which helps to stop the flow of blood and stops us from bleeding.
White blood cells - Their main function is to help our body fight infection. There are 5
different types of white blood cells produced by the bone marrow. The main two are:
Neutrophils – The most numerous of the white blood cells, there function is to defend
the body from bacteria.
Lymphocytes – These are the second most numerous of the white blood cells, these
make antibodies as part of an immune response to the bacteria.
Oxygen debt is where the demand for oxygen is greater than the supply or the
amount available. You breath in a lot of oxygen but you cannot absorb enough to
cope with the level of activity. If this happens, your body is mainly using the
anaerobic energy system and as a result, lactic acid builds up as an unwanted
waste product. The amount of oxygen owed to the body in order to recover is
oxygen debt.
An example of this is:
If you run a hard race like the 400 metres where you start and finish using
mainly the anaerobic systems. Soreness and fatigue sets into the muscles and
you need to repay your body with oxygen after the race in order to recover.
Tolerance: It is possible to increase the body’s tolerance to lactic acid build up
and oxygen debt by improving fitness. Regular exercise that gradually increases
in duration and / or intensity will help to develop and affect the efficiency of
both the circulatory system and the respiratory system. If you can improve the
amount of oxygen that the lungs can deliver to the blood and make your heart
stronger then this will increase your tolerance to lactic acid build up in muscles.
When you exercise, your body temperature goes up, so your body needs to bring
this back down again. The homeostatic responses that are involved are:
Dilation (increase in diameter) - The blood vessels closest to the skin, bringing
blood, and heating the blood, carries it to the surface of the body.
Production of sweat by sweat glands - Evaporation then cools the skin, and the
blood that had been carried to the bodies surface is then cooled.
Increased breathing rate - This also helps to expel any unwanted heat from the
body.
Example: A sprinter can recover from an all out effort, for example a 100m race,
in about three minutes. The reason for this is because this is how long it takes for
the build up of lactic acid in the muscles to fall back down to a reasonable level
for the muscles to start working at maximum effectiveness again. However,
Activity of a longer duration, such as a marathon run or a long distance cycle ride
will require a much longer period of recovery. For the runner or the cyclist the
oxygen they take in during their recovery time helps to remove the build up of
lactic acid. In some cases, it can be a couple of hours before the heart rate
return to a normal level.
•The adult human body contains approximately 5 litres of blood and accounts for
approximately 7-8% of our total body weight.
•Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, which is a soft spongy material that
fills up the cavities of the bones.
•In a healthy person millions of red and white cells are produced and formed daily
in the bone marrow.
•Nearly half the blood, approximately 45% is made up of blood cells and the rest
55% is made up of plasma.
•In 1901, scientist Karl Land Steiner reported that blood could be split up into
blood ‘types’.
•There are 4 main blood groups, A, B, AB and O.
•Type O is the most common with 47% of the population having it.
•The blood contains more red blood cells than any other type of cell. In a single
drop of blood there are millions of red blood cells.