Red blood cell

How it is used

Often shortened to RBC; the technical name is erythrocyte. Red blood cells are made in red bone marrow, and their count is part of a complete blood count. The other cells in blood are white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets.

Example sentences

1. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow.

2. Each red blood cell contains hundreds of millions of hemoglobin molecules.

Common collocations

• red blood cell count
• RBC
• white blood cell
• hemoglobin
• erythrocyte

Related terms

• cellThe smallest living unit of the body. Each cell has a membrane and cytoplasm, most also have a nucleus, and groups of similar cells form tissues.
• boneThe hard, living tissue that forms the skeleton, and each organ made of it. Bones support the body, protect organs, store calcium and contain the marrow that makes blood cells.
• capillaryThe smallest type of blood vessel, with a wall only one cell thick. Capillaries connect arteries to veins, and oxygen, nutrients and waste pass through their walls to and from the tissues.
• -cyteA word ending from Greek meaning 'cell'. It appears in erythrocyte (red blood cell), leukocyte (white blood cell), osteocyte (bone cell) and hepatocyte (liver cell).
• nucleusThe control center of a cell, surrounded by its own membrane. It contains the DNA, which carries the instructions for making proteins and for cell division.

More terms: Heart, Circulation and Breathing

• heart
• artery
• vein
• lung
• blood pressure
• respiration
• ventricle
• atrium
• diaphragm
• cardiac cycle
• trachea
• alveolus