red blood cell

noun

variants or less commonly red blood corpuscle or red cell or red corpuscle

: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and in mammals are typically biconcave disks which lack a nucleus and cellular organelles and are formed from nucleated cells of the red bone marrow

Note: The number of red blood cells ranges from four to six million in each cubic millimeter of normal human blood. The red color of blood is due to the presence of hemoglobin within the red blood cells.

called also erythrocyte

compare white blood cell

Examples of red blood cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Blood transfusions: If your iron levels are dangerously low, a blood transfusion from a blood donor can quickly increase red blood cells and iron levels. —Lindsay Curtis, Health, 5 Nov. 2024

The team found that stem cells were reacting to the retrotransposon explosion by switching on key proteins involved in antiviral immune responses—which in turn was causing these cells to multiply and, in some cases, turn into red blood cells. —Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 24 Oct. 2024

For size comparison, a red blood cell is about 250 times the size of a low-density lipoprotein molecule. —Heidi Moawad, Verywell Health, 21 Oct. 2024

For example, red blood cells live about 120 days, then die and are automatically replaced. —Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

red blood cell

noun

: a reddish cell of the blood that contains hemoglobin and carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

Medical Definition

red blood cell

noun

: any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and are responsible for the red color of vertebrate blood

called also erythrocyte, red blood corpuscle, red cell, red corpuscle

compare white blood cell