What Are White Blood Cells?
Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky
1. Red Blood Cells
In order to understand what white blood cells are, it is important to differentiate them from another type of blood cell: Red blood cells. Red blood cells are the most numerous type of blood cell and it is their red color that causes our blood to be red also.
The red color comes from their high iron content, and the iron enables them to carry oxygen around the body. If we were to lose too many red blood cells then we would basically asphyxiate as our body is starved of oxygen. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow, and they have a life of approximately 4 months.
