Bone marrow turns out roughly 2 million red cells every second, just enough to replace those cleared after a lifespan of about 120 days. When a vessel tears, platelets plug the wound before a fibrin mesh cinches the clot tight; when infection sets in, white cells surge out after the bacteria. Red cells meanwhile run the full lung-to-tissue loop trading O₂ for CO₂, and carbon monoxide binds haemoglobin some 200 times harder than oxygen, suffocating tissue while the blood still looks bright red.
Bone marrow turns out roughly 2 million red cells every second, just enough to replace those cleared after a lifespan of about 120 days. When a vessel tears, platelets plug the wound before a fibrin mesh cinches the clot tight; when infection sets in, white cells surge out after the bacteria. Red cells meanwhile run the full lung-to-tissue loop trading O₂ for CO₂, and carbon monoxide binds haemoglobin some 200 times harder than oxygen, suffocating tissue while the blood still looks bright red.
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