Blood Type



A blood type is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of antigens on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). [1]

Blood types are inherited and represent contributions from both parents. [1]

Inheritance of Blood Types

Parent 1

AB

AB

AB

AB

B

A

A

O

O

O

Parent 2

AB

B

A

O

B

B

A

B

A

O

Possible blood type of child

O

X

X

X

X

X

X

A

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

B

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

AB

X

X

X

X

(Image Source: http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/blood-types)


The two most important human blood groups are ABO and the RhD antigen; they determine someone's blood type (A, B, AB and O, with + and − denoting RhD status). [1]

33 blood-group systems have been identified, including the ABO and Rh systems. [2][23] Thus, in addition to the ABO antigens and Rh antigens, many others--like the Duffy Antigen which we will come to--are expressed on the RBC surface membrane.

The Importance of Compatibility

Main symptoms of acute hemolytic reaction
due to blood type mismatch. [24][25]

If a unit of incompatible blood is transfused between a donor and recipient, it can trigger a severe acute hemolytic reaction (AHR). [1]

AHR occurs when antibodies attack RBCs and bind components of the complement system to cause massive hemolysis (RBC destruction) of the transfused blood. Renal failure and shock are likely to occur, and death is a possibility. [1]

A pregnant woman can make antibodies if her fetus has an antigen that she does not have. This can happen if the fetus' blood cells pass into the mother's blood stream. IgG antibodies are small and can cross the placenta and cause hemolysis of fetal RBCs, which in turn can lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN).[3]

Rh disease can occur in pregnancies of Rh negative women where the fetus's father is Rh positive, leading to a Rh+ pregnancy. During birth, the mother may be exposed to the infant's blood, and this causes the development of antibodies, which may affect the health of subsequent Rh+ pregnancies. [4]  The effects of this disease can range from mild (anemia) to severe (HDN, hydrops fetalis* or stillbirth). 

*Hydrops fetalis is a condition in the fetus characterized by an accumulation of fluid, or edema, in at least two fetal compartments. [5]

If a pregnant woman is known to have these antibodies, the Rh blood type of a fetus can be tested by analysis of fetal DNA in maternal plasma to assess the risk to the fetus of Rh disease. [6]

One of the major advances of twentieth century medicine was to prevent this disease by stopping the formation of antibodies by Rh negative mothers with an injectable medication called Rho(D) immune globulin. [7][8] 

Rho(D) immune globulin is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system. [9]







Compatibility Chart

				COMPATIBLE
Patient's ABO Group	Antigen on Red Cells	Antibody in Serum	Whole Blood	Red Blood Cells	Plasma
O	No A or B	Anti-A Anti-B	O	O	O A B AB
A	A	Anti-B	A	A O	A AB
B	B	Anti-A	B	B O	B AB
AB	A and B	None	AB	AB A B O	AB

(Image Source: www.pathology.med.umich.edu/bloodbank/manual/bb_chart/)

An individual's blood type can change through addition or suppression of an antigen in infection, malignancy, or autoimmune disease. [13][14][15][16]

Certain blood types may affect susceptibility to infections, an example being the resistance to specific malaria species seen in individuals lacking the Duffy antigen. [17]  Located on the surface of RBC's, the Duffy Antigen, a receptor for human malarial parasites, is less common in ethnic groups from areas with a high incidence of malaria. [18] For example, Duffy-negative blood occurs much more frequently in people of African origin. [19]  

Historically, blood types have been used in forensic science and were formerly used to demonstrate impossibility of paternity (a type AB man cannot be the father of a type O infant), but both of these uses are being replaced by genetic fingerprinting, which provides greater certainty. [20]

A popular belief in Japan is that a person's ABO blood type is predictive of their personality, character, and compatibility with others. The theory reached Japan in a 1927 psychologist's report, and the militarist government of the time commissioned a study aimed at breeding better soldiers. [21]  The fad faded in the 1930s and ultimately with the discovery of DNA in the following decades. Yet, the myth still persists in Japanese popular culture. [22]

UPDATES /RELATED


MEDICAL DAILY  (Video) MARCH 20, 2015 In the Blood: Antigens In Red Blood Cells Determine Human Blood Types

LIVE SCIENCE  APRIL 7, 2015  Boy Gets Food Allergies from Blood Transfusion

SCIENCE NEWS  MAY 4, 2015  Sugar-cleaving Molecule Raises Hope For Universal Blood

MEDICAL DAILY  JANUARY 27 2015   True Blood: 7 Little-Known Facts About Blood

LIVE SCIENCE JANUARY 17, 2015   Your Blood Type May Put You at Risk for Heart Disease

MEDICAL DAILY  APRIL 29, 2015  Blood Donations Made Simple: New Process Renders Type A And B Blood 'Neutral'

MEDICAL DAILY  MAY 30, 2013 Why Donating Blood Is Good For Your Health  





REFERENCES

[1] Blood type Author: Wikipedia contributors Publisher: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 26 September 2014 22:43 UTC Date retrieved: 3 October 2014 22:57 UTC Permanent link: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blood_type&oldid=627215494 Primary contributors: Revision history statistics Page Version ID: 627215494
[2] "Table of blood group systems v3.0". International Society of Blood Transfusion. October 28, 2012.
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemolytic_disease_of_the_newborn
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh_disease
[5] "Hydrops Fetalis: eMedicine Pediatrics: Cardiac Disease and Critical Care Medicine".
[6] "Use of Anti-D Immunoglobulin for Rh Prophylaxis". Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. May 2002.
[7] "Pregnancy – routine anti-D prophylaxis for D-negative women". NICE. May 2002.
[8] American Association of Blood Banks (24 April 2014)
[9] "WHO Model List of EssentialMedicines". World Health Organization. October 2013.
[10] The Chief Medical Officer’s National Blood Transfusion Committee (2008?). "The appropriate use of group O RhD negative red cells". National Health Service.
[11] Dennis O'Neil (1999). "Blood Components". Palomar College.
[12] "Ways to Keep Your Blood Plasma Healthy".
[13] Dean 2005, The ABO blood group "... A number of illnesses may alter a person's ABO phenotype ..."
[14] Stayboldt C, Rearden A, Lane TA (1987). "B antigen acquired by normal A1 red cells exposed to a patient's serum". Transfusion 27 (1): 41–4. doi:10.1046/j.1537-2995.1987.27187121471.x. PMID 3810822.
[15] Matsushita S, Imamura T, Mizuta T, Hanada M (November 1983). "Acquired B antigen and polyagglutination in a patient with gastric cancer". The Japanese Journal of Surgery 13 (6): 540–2. doi:10.1007/BF02469500. PMID 6672386.
[16] Kremer Hovinga I, Koopmans M, de Heer E, Bruijn J, Bajema I (2007). "Change in blood group in systemic lupus erythematosus". Lancet 369 (9557): 186–7; author reply 187. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60099-3. PMID 17240276.
[17] Miller LH, Mason SJ, Clyde DF, McGinniss MH (August 1976). "The resistance factor to Plasmodium vivax in blacks. The Duffy-blood-group genotype, FyFy". The New England Journal of Medicine 295 (6): 302–4. doi:10.1056/NEJM197608052950602. PMID 778616.
[18] Kwiatkowski DP (August 2005). "How Malaria Has Affected the Human Genome and What Human Genetics Can Teach Us about Malaria". American Journal of Human Genetics 77 (2): 171–92. doi:10.1086/432519. PMC 1224522. PMID 16001361. "The different geographic distributions of α thalassemia, G6PD deficiency, ovalocytosis, and the Duffy-negative blood group are further examples of the general principle that different populations have evolved different genetic variants to protect against malaria."
[19] Nickel RG, Willadsen SA, Freidhoff LR et al. (August 1999). "Determination of Duffy genotypes in three populations of African descent using PCR and sequence-specific oligonucleotides". Human Immunology 60 (8): 738–42. doi:10.1016/S0198-8859(99)00039-7. PMID 10439320.
[20] Johnson P, Williams R, Martin P (2003). "Genetics and Forensics: Making the National DNA Database". Science Studies 16 (2): 22–37. PMC 1351151. PMID 16467921.
[21] "Despite scientific debunking, in Japan you are what your blood type is". MediResource Inc. Associated Press. 2009-02-01.
[22] Nuwer, Rachel. "You are what you bleed: In Japan and other east Asian countries some believe blood type dictates personality". Scientific American.
[23] Joshua E. Brown (22 February 2012). "Blood Mystery Solved". University Of Vermont.
[24] Possible Risks of Blood Product Transfusions from American Cancer Society. Last Medical Review: 03/08/2008. Last Revised: 01/13/2009
[25] 7 adverse reactions to transfusion Pathology Department at University of Michigan. Version July 2004, Revised 11/5/08



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES


http://www.pathology.med.umich.edu/bloodbank/manual/bb_chart/
http://www.redcrossblood.org/
http://www.bloodbook.com/compat.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_plasmahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffy_antigen_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrops_fetalis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rho(D)_immune_globulin
http://www.canadiancrc.com/paternity_determination_blood_type.aspx



IMAGE CREDITS


"ABO blood type" by InvictaHOG - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons -http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABO_blood_type.svg#mediaviewer/File:ABO_blood_type.svg

"Main symptoms of acute hemolytic reaction" by Mikael Häggström.When using this image in external works, it may be cited as follows:Häggström, Mikael. "Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 20018762. - See above. All used images are in public domain.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Main_symptoms_of_acute_hemolytic_reaction.png#mediaviewer/File:Main_symptoms_of_acute_hemolytic_reaction.png

"1910 Erythroblastosis Fetalis" by OpenStax College - Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1910_Erythroblastosis_Fetalis.jpg#mediaviewer/File:1910_Erythroblastosis_Fetalis.jpg

"Blood Compatibility" by InvictaHOG - Criado por mim no Adobe Illustrator 8/24/06 e liberado para domínio público. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blood_Compatibility.svg#mediaviewer/File:Blood_Compatibility.svg

"Plasma donation compatibility path" by Giancaldo at English Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plasma-donation.svg. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plasma_donation_compatibility_path.svg#mediaviewer/File:Plasma_donation_compatibility_path.svg

The Tongue and its Buds

The tongue is our primary organ of taste, plays a key role in our ability to speak, and helps keep our teeth clean. [1]

On average, the human tongue has 3,000–10,000 taste buds [2] which are involved in detecting the 5 known elements of taste perception: salty, sour, bitter, sweet and umami (savory). [1]

These tastes can be detected by any area of the tongue. [1] 

There is some evidence for a sixth taste that senses fatty substances. [3]

Food dissolved in our saliva comes into contact with taste receptors through taste pores in the tongue epithelium. These receptors (located on the surface of the taste receptor cells that comprise the taste buds), are responsible for sending information to the gustatory areas of the brain via cranial nerves. [4][5]

Taste buds are located on the back and front of the tongue; the roof, sides and back of the mouth, and in the throat. [6] Each taste bud contains 50 to 100 taste receptor cells. [7]




Taste receptors are present on the human tongue in papillae [1]

As taste senses both harmful and beneficial things, all basic tastes are classified as either aversive or appetitive, depending upon the effect the things they sense have on our bodies. [8] Sweetness helps to identify energy-rich foods, while bitterness serves as a warning sign of poisons. [9]

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine system is strongly associated with the reward system of the brain. Dopamine is released as a result of rewarding experiences such as food, sex, and neutral stimuli that become associated with them. [10]

Animals in which the VTA dopamine system has been rendered inactive do not seek food, and will starve to death if left to themselves, but if food is placed in their mouths they will consume it and show facial expressions indicative of pleasure. [10]

Taste perception fades with age: On average, people lose half their taste receptors by the time they turn 20. [11]


Not all animals can sense all tastes. [12]

In 2010, researchers found bitter taste receptors in lung tissue, which cause airways to relax when a bitter substance is encountered. They believe this may be exploited to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [13]

The ability to detect bitter-tasting, toxic compounds at low thresholds is considered to provide an important protective function. [14][15] Amongst leaf-eating primates, there is a tendency to prefer immature leaves, which tend to be higher in protein and lower in fiber and toxins than mature leaves. [16]

Amongst humans, various food processing techniques are used worldwide to detoxify otherwise inedible foods and make them palatable. [17] Furthermore, the use of fire, changes in diet, and avoidance of toxins has led to neutral evolution in human bitter sensitivity. This has allowed several loss of function mutations that has led to a reduced sensory capacity towards bitterness in humans when compared to other species. [18]

A metallic taste may be caused by food and drink, certain medicines or amalgam dental fillings. Regarding the latter, it has been shown that the dissimilar metals used in dental work may produce a measurable current. [19]


Blood is considered by many people to have a metallic taste. [20]


A metallic taste in the mouth is also a symptom of various medical conditions. [20]


A supertaster is a person whose sense of taste is significantly more sensitive than average. The cause of this heightened response is likely, at least in part, due to an increased number of fungiform papillae. [21]


Patients with Addison's disease, pituitary insufficiency, or cystic fibrosis sometimes have a hyper-sensitivity to taste perception. [22]


The eight muscles of the human tongue are classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic. [1]

The main functions of the extrinsic muscles are altering the tongue's position allowing for protrusion, retraction, and side-to-side movement. [23]:991

The intrinsic muscles lengthen, shorten, curl and uncurl, flatten and round its surface. This provides shape, and helps facilitate speech, swallowing, and eating. [23]:991




A Punnett square for one of Mendel's pea
plant experiments.

 Rolling the tongue into a tube shape is often described as a dominant trait with simple Mendelian inheritance. [24]

However, a 1975 twin study found that identical twins were no more likely than fraternal twins to both have the same phenotype for tongue rolling. [25][26]

Cloverleaf tongue

Cloverleaf tongue is the ability to fold the tongue in a certain configuration with multiple bends.

The average length of the human tongue is 10 cm (4 in). [27]

Food debris, desquamated epithelial cells and bacteria often form a visible tongue coating. [28] This coating has been identified as a major contributing factor in bad breath (halitosis). [28]

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, sometimes called presque vu, is the failure to retrieve a word from memory, combined with partial recall and the feeling that retrieval is imminent. [29] The phenomenon's name comes from the saying, "It's on the tip of my tongue." [30][31][32] The tip of the tongue phenomenon reveals that lexical access occurs in stages. [33][34]

In Tibet, sticking out one’s tongue is considered a greeting. [35]

In 2009, a farmer from Fabriano, Italy was convicted and fined by the country's highest court for sticking his tongue out at a neighbor with whom he had been arguing. Proof of the affront had been captured with a cell phone camera. [36]

A dog's tongue acts as a heat regulator. As a dog increases its exercise, the tongue will increase in size due to greater blood flow. The tongue hangs out of its mouth and the moisture on the tongue will work to cool the blood flow. [37][38]

Updates & Related

• Scientists turn tastes on and off by activating and silencing clusters of brain cells / psypost.org / November 21, 2015
• Why Is My Tongue White? 4 Weird Tongue Problems And Their Symptoms Medical Daily September 11, 2015
• The five basic tastes have sixth sibling: oleogustus ScienceNews July 31, 2015

• Tongue Tied? What Your Tongue's Appearance Can Tell You About Your Health Medical Daily, June 11, 2014

• Why Doesn't Your Tongue Get Infected When You Bite It? HowStuffWorks.com Accessed July 30, 2015

References & Resources

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue
[2] Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
[3] Laugerette F, Passilly-Degrace P, Patris B, et al. (November 2005). "CD36 involvement in orosensory detection of dietary lipids, spontaneous fat preference, and digestive secretions". The Journal of Clinical Investigation 115 (11): 3177–84. doi:10.1172/JCI25299. PMC 1265871. PMID 16276419.
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste_bud
[5] Kobayashi, Masayuki (2006). "Functional Organization of the Human Gustatory Cortex". J. Oral Biosci 48 (4): 244–260. doi:10.1016/S1349-0079(06)80007-1.
[6] Boron, W.F., E.L. Boulpaep. 2003. Medical Physiology. 1st ed. Elsevier Science USA.
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste
[8] Why do two great tastes sometimes not taste great together? scientificamerican.com. Dr. Tim Jacob, Cardiff University. May 22, 2009.
[9] Miller, Greg (2 September 2011). "Sweet here, salty there: Evidence of a taste map in the mammilian brain.". Science 333 (6047): 1213. doi:10.1126/science.333.6047.1213.
[10] Arias-Carrión O, Pöppel E (2007). "Dopamine, learning and reward-seeking behavior". Act Neurobiol Exp 67 (4): 481–488.
[11] Schacter, Daniel (2009). Psychology Second Edition. United States of America: Worth Publishers. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4292-3719-2.
[12] Scully, Simone M. "The Animals That Taste Only Saltiness". Nautilus.
[13] http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/2010/when-bad-tastes-good-discovery-of-taste-receptors-in-the-lungs-could-help-people-with-asthma-breathe-easier
[14] Guyton, Arthur C. (1991) Textbook of Medical Physiology. (8th ed). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders
[15] Glendinning, J. I. (1994). "Is the bitter rejection response always adaptive?". Physiol Behav 56 (6): 1217–1227. doi:10.1016/0031-9384(94)90369-7. PMID 7878094.
[16] Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1994) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
[17] Johns, T. (1990). With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat It: Chemical ecology and the origins of human diet and medicine. Tucson: University of Arizona Press
[18] Wang, X. (2004). Relaxation Of Selective Constraint And Loss Of Function In The Evolution Of Human Bitter Taste Receptor Genes. Human Molecular Genetics, 13(21), 2671-2678.
[19] "Is there a Battery in your Mouth?". www.toothbody.com.
[20] Does Anxiety Cause a Metallic Taste in Your Mouth?, Calm Clinic. .
[21] Bartoshuk L. M., Duffy V. B. et al. (1994). "PTC/PROP tasting: anatomy, psychophysics, and sex effects." 1994". Physiol Behav 56 (6): 1165–71. doi:10.1016/0031-9384(94)90361-1. PMID 7878086.
[22] Walker, H. Kenneth (1990). "Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
[23] Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, Wayne; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell; illustrations by Richard; Richardson, Paul (2005). Gray's anatomy for students. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-8089-2306-0.
[24] AP Biology Lab, Edwards-Knox Central School, Russel, NY
[25] Discovery Online, The Skinny On... Tongue Rolling
[26] Omim - Tongue Curling, Folding, Or Rolling
[27] Kerrod, Robin (1997). MacMillan's Encyclopedia of Science 6. Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-02-864558-8.
[28] (editors) Newman MG, Takei HH, Klokkevold PR, Carranza FA (2012). Carranza's clinical periodontology (11th ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier/Saunders. pp. 84–96. ISBN 978-1-4377-0416-7.
[29] Brown, AS. (Mar 1991). "A review of the tip-of-the-tongue experience.". Psychological Bulletin 109 (2): 204–23. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.204. PMID 2034750.
[30] Schwartz, BL. (Sep 1999). "Sparkling at the end of the tongue: the etiology of tip-of-the-tongue phenomenology.". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 6 (3): 379–93. doi:10.3758/bf03210827. PMID 12198776.
[31] Brown, Roger; McNeill, David (1966). "The "tip of the tongue" phenomenon". Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 5 (4): 325–337. doi:10.1016/S0022-5371(66)80040-3.
[32] Rastle, Kathleen G.; Burke, Deborah M. (1996). "Priming the Tip of the Tongue: Effects of Prior Processing on Word Retrieval in Young and Older Adults". Journal of Memory and Language 35 (4): 586–605. doi:10.1006/jmla.1996.0031.
[33] Beattie, G.; Coughlan, J. (Feb 1999). "An experimental investigation of the role of iconic gestures in lexical access using the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.". Br J Psychol 90 (1): 35–56. doi:10.1348/000712699161251. PMID 10085545.
[34] Schwartz, BL.; Metcalfe, J. (Jul 2011). "Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states: retrieval, behavior, and experience.". Mem Cognit 39 (5): 737–49. doi:10.3758/s13421-010-0066-8. PMID 21264637.
[35] Bhuchung K Tsering (27 December 2007). "Tibetan culture in the 21st century".
[36] Sticking out your tongue ruled illegal
[37] A dog's tongue
[38] Krönert, H.; Pleschka, K. (January 1976). "Lingual blood flow and its hypothalamic control in the dog during panting". Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology 367 (1): 25–31. doi:10.1007/BF00583652. ISSN 0031-6768.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue_rolling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustatory_cortex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelian_inheritance 

Image Credits

"1402 The Tongue" by OpenStax College - Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1402_The_Tongue.jpg#mediaviewer/File:1402_The_Tongue.jpg

"Lgive lashon" by אני (Transferred by חיים 7/Originally uploaded by צביה) - אני. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lgive_lashon.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Lgive_lashon.JPG

"Punnett square mendel flowers" by Madprime - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Punnett_square_mendel_flowers.svg#mediaviewer/File:Punnett_square_mendel_flowers.svg

"4x curling tongue" by BigH22 - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4x_curling_tongue.jpg#mediaviewer/File:4x_curling_tongue.jpg