red blood cell

noun

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

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of red blood cell

: 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

See red blood cell defined for English-language learners

See red blood cell defined for kids

Recent Examples of red blood cell from the Web

The common topical anesthetic in teething gels, prays, ointments, and lozenges can lead to a serious and sometimes fatal condition called methemoglobinemia, in which red blood cells can no longer carry as much oxygen.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Don't Use Baby Teething Medicine With Benzocaine, the FDA Warns," 23 May 2018
The condition most often arises when a woman with an Rh-negative blood type becomes pregnant with a baby who has Rh-positive blood, and the incompatibility causes the mother’s body to reject the fetus’s red blood cells.

— amy b wang, Washington Post, "For six decades, ‘the man with the golden arm’ donated blood — and saved 2.4 million babies," 12 May 2018
While plasma is restores volume that has been lost and red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, both blood products lacked platelets, which can help clot an injury, such as a cut, stab, gunshot or hemorrhage.

— mayra cruz, Houston Chronicle, "Cypress Creek EMS improves hope for patient survival with new blood program," 9 Feb. 2018
Importantly, Mendell said the patients treated so far are showing no signs of adverse immune reactions, no kidney issues, and no drops in red blood cells or platelet counts.

— adam feuerstein, STAT, "With tantalizing early results, Sarepta’s gene therapy for Duchenne raises hopes for ‘real change’," 19 June 2018
Sickle cell disease is caused by a genetic mutation that causes the red blood cells to fold.

— NBC News, "Red Cross seeks more blood with #MissingType campaign," 11 June 2018
For example, the genetic mutation to red blood cells that helps humans survive malaria can also produce the deadly sickle cell disease.

— brian handwerk, Smithsonian, "How Cheese, Wheat and Alcohol Shaped Human Evolution," 7 May 2016
The mice were found to be free of the defect, which impacts how much oxygen is carried in red blood cells and leads to anemia.

— rebecca lurye, courant.com, "Gene Editing Shows Promise In Yale Study," 29 June 2018
Recipients of regular blood transfusions, like Tymia, build up antibodies to red blood cells.

— NBC News, "Red Cross seeks more blood with #MissingType campaign," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'red blood cell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of red blood cell

1850

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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RED BLOOD CELL Defined for English Language Learners

red blood cell

noun

Definition of red blood cell for English Language Learners

: a red-colored blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body

RED BLOOD CELL Defined for Kids

red blood cell

noun

Definition of red blood cell for Students

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

Medical Dictionary

red blood cell

noun

medical Definition of red blood cell

: 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