Anatomy is the branch of biology that deals with the structure of living organisms while physiology deals with

the functions of these organisms and their parts. These branches are separate from each other; however, they are dependent on each other. The anatomy of a structure can dictate how it functions, and the reverse is also true. The function of a structure can dictate its form. A very good example of this in the human body is the erythrocyte, more commonly known as a red blood cell (RBC). Red blood cells are present in blood and they constitute the largest portion of blood cells ranging from 4.5 to 5 million of them per L of blood. Their main function is the transport of respiratory gasses (O2 and CO2) around the body. This function is closely correlated to the anatomy of the cell and this correlation can more closely be understood by examining the structure of the cell, its lack of organelles, and its composition. As shown in Figure 1, red blood cells are very small cells 7.5 m in diameter and resemble a doughnut without the hole. They are biconcave discs that have a smaller cross sectional diameter at the centre (0.8m) than at the edges (2.85 m). As a result red blood cells are lighter in colour at the centres than they are at the edges. This shape is ideal for gas exchange because no point within the cytoplasm is far from the surface. The small size and biconcave shape contribute greatly to gas exchange as they provide a huge surface area relative to the volume of the cell allowing more efficient diffusion of respiratory gases. The shape of the cell is maintained by a network of proteins including spectrin and protein 4.1. These proteins constitute the cytoskeleton of the erythrocyte cell giving it strength. The protein cytoskeleton is deformable allowing the red blood cell to be very flexible and giving it the ability to stretch. This deformability allows red blood cells to twist, turn, and change shape without rupturing when travelling through narrow capillaries which have diameters smaller than their own (4 m). Likewise, the shape of the cell also facilitates travel through capillaries as shown in Figure 2.

The biconcave structure of the cell allows it to form stacks called rouleaux which resemble stacks of dinner plates. These rouleaux allow single file travel through a capillary. Otherwise, the individual cells could possibly bump into the cell walls, bang together and form logiams which would restrict blood flow. A key feature of the mature red blood cell is that it lacks many of the organelles that exist in other cells. An organelle still present in the red blood cell is the plasma membrane, yet it does not contain a nucleus or mitochondria. However, red blood cells produced by a fetus are different as they are nucleated. Maturing red blood cells will lose any organelle that is not important in facilitating its function, so as to provide more space in the cell to carry oxygen. Hence, the lack of organelles directly helps to maximize the efficiency of gas exchange. As a result of lacking a nucleus, the red blood cell cannot reproduce so they must be replaced constantly. They will generally circulate in the body for around 120 days before being replaced by erythropoiesis. Also, since they do not have mitochondria, red blood cells do not generate energy through aerobic respiration. Instead, they rely on anaerobic respiration to generate energy which does not consume oxygen. The lack of mitochondria and generation of energy through anaerobic respiration make them very efficient oxygen carriers because they do not consume the oxygen they are carrying. The last characteristic of an erythrocyte that links its anatomy with its physiology is its composition. As stated above, the erythrocyte lacks most organelles but still includes the plasma membrane. The plasma membrane is composed of 60% lipids and glycolipids and 40% proteins and glycoproteins. The composition of the plasma membrane allows both oxygen and carbon dioxide into the cell through simple diffusion. Therefore, no energy is needed for the respiratory gases to enter in or out of the cell. The remainder of the cell contains cytosol containing various

proteins needed for the cell to transport gasses. For example, antioxidant enzymes help to rid the body of harmful oxygen radicals. Other proteins help to maintain the plasma membrane or, as is in the case with spectrin, promoting change in the shape of the red blood cell. The most common and most important protein in the red blood cell is hemoglobin (Hb) as it is directly responsible for facilitating its function. An erythrocyte is over 97% Hb discounting the cell's water content. For this reason, red blood cells can be described to be 'bags' of hemoglobin. It is crucial in the transport of respiratory gases as it binds to them to enable transport. Each RBC contains about 280 million Hb molecules which can each carry four oxygen molecules. The large percent composition of Hb in RBCs allows each cell to transport up to over a billion oxygen molecules at a time. The role of the red blood cell in carrying Hb is to prevent it from breaking into fragments that would leak in to the blood stream and also prevent it from contributing to blood viscosity and osmotic pressure. In conclusion, by examining the different characteristics of the red blood cell it can be seen that its form correlates to its function and vice versa. Its biconcave structure allows gas exchange to occur more efficiently, and along with its flexibility allows it to travel through narrow capillaries. Its lack of organelles allows more space for gas exchange to occur, and makes it an efficient oxygen carrier as it does not consume oxygen like other cells do. Lastly, being largely composed of hemoglobin allows the cell to carry many molecules of respiratory gases at a time to maximize efficiency. In other words, the red blood cell's form makes it as efficient as possible at facilitating its function.