The Gallbladder.
antibodies against the foreign blood. This initial mis-match
has no immediate serious consequences because it takes the
body time to react and produce antibodies. However, if a
second mismatched transfusion occurs, the patient’s
antibodies will now attack and -rupture the -Rh-positive
blood donor’s RBCs and they will agglutinate.
A similar problem occurs when an Rh-negative mother
carries an Rh-positive baby. This is the case in which the
mother is Rh negative and the father is- Rh positive. The
first pregnancy is usually normal. Be-cause the mother may
now be sensitized to the Rh-positive antigens, she will
produce anti-Rh positive
317
antibodies in the future. These antibodies will cross through
the placenta and destroy the child’s RBCs, causing a
condition known as erythroblastosis fetalis (eh-RITH-
roh-blass-TOH-sis fee-TAL-is) or -hemolytic disease of
the newborn. The baby will be anemic and suffer brain
damage due to lack of oxygen to nerve cells. Death may
result. However, today this condition is rare. An Rh-
negative woman can be given a drug called RhoGAM-.
This is, in actuality, anti-Rh antibodies that will bind to any
Rh-positive fetal cells and shield them, thus protecting any
of the child’s RBCs that might contact the mother’s cells.
This sensitizes her immune system.As the body Ages
As the fetus develops in the womb, blood cell formation occurs in the spleen, liver,
and yolk sac, but, by the third trimester, hematopoiesis is occurring in the red
marrow and myeloid tissue and continues there throughout life. In addi-tion,
lymphoid tissue assists red bone marrow in providing lymphocytes and monocytes
during one’s lifetime.^
Vitamin K plays a major role in many of the factors involved in blood clot-ting.
We receive about half of our supply of vitamin K in our diet, while the rest is
produced from friendly bacteria that inhabit our large intestine. Patients^
on prolonged antibacterial therapy may have these helpful bacteria destroyed and may de-velop
bleeding problems. These individuals may need to supplement their nutrient intake with vitamin K
pills.
Individuals who smoke cigarettes increase their intake of carbon monoxide gas, found in
cigarette smoke. The carbon monoxide binds to the iron in the hemoglobin molecules of red blood
cells to form carboxyhemoglobin. This interferes with the blood’s ability to trans-port oxygen.
Smokers can have 5% to 15% carboxyhemoglobin in their blood. This may cause some mental
impairment.
During aging, a number of blood diseases may also develop, such as clotting disorders and
anemias. The development of chronic leukemias in old age is a result of the decreased efficiency
of the immune system. Many of the age-related disorders of the blood are inti-mately associated
with problems of the blood vessels, heart, and immune system.