Question

Give scientific reasons for the following statements:

Mature erythrocytes in humans lack nucleus and mitochondria.

Answer 1

RBC:

1. RBCs are also known as erythrocytes.
2. Mature RBCs lack a nucleus and other cell organelles like mitochondria, Golgi body, etc.
3. RBCs contain a special type of red pigment (hemoglobin) that helps to carry oxygen.
4. Because of the hemoglobin the color of blood is red.

Explanation :

1. Because of the absence of nuclei in RBCs, they become biconcave and round in shape.
2. This biconcave and round shape of RBC increases its surface area to absorb the respiratory gases (O₂ and CO₂ )
3. Because of the absence of mitochondria, RBCs can not perform aerobic respiration.
4. They can carry oxygen to the tissue very easily without using them for their respiration.
5. Basically, the absence of mitochondria increases the efficiency of RBC as an oxygen carrier.