red blood cell

noun

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

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

Examples of red blood cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Landsteiner's Discoveries Studying earlier experiments with animals, scientists had noticed that these foreign bodies were broken up in the human bloodstream by hemoglobin, which resides on red blood cells and carries oxygen through the body. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "What Different Blood Types Mean (And How To Find Out Yours)," 28 Dec. 2018 Cardiotoxins cause heart damage, for example, while hemotoxins destroy red blood cells. 5. — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, "20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Poison," 25 Sep. 2018 Leghemoglobin is an iron-containing protein pulled from soybean roots that’s similar to hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "PETA roasts Impossible Burger for rat tests, suggests patties cause cancer," 11 Aug. 2018 And since oats also contain iron (a mineral which helps deliver oxygen to red blood cells) and magnesium (which aids nerve and muscle function), oatmeal is my go-to recommendation for endurance athletes looking to maximize their stamina. — Good Housekeeping, "4 Reasons Why Oatmeal Is the Ultimate Breakfast," 15 Oct. 2018 Blood is drawn, usually from the client’s arm, then placed in a centrifuge in order to separate the plasma and the platelets from red blood cells. — Rebecca Jennings, Vox, "“Vampire facials” are massively popular. And — surprise! — potentially dangerous.," 14 Sep. 2018 Victims are sometimes found with a cherry red rash, a symptom of carbon monoxide molecules attaching to red blood cells. — New York Times, "Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars and Their Carbon Monoxide Toll," 13 May 2018 Stx2 causes cell death, triggers immune responses, and leads to the destruction of red blood cells, which can damage the kidneys. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "The poop of 100K cows may be to blame for that deadly romaine E. coli outbreak," 8 Aug. 2018 Still, bilirubin goes up when red blood cells are destroyed at a higher-than-normal rate. — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, "Why Wouldn’t the Lump Under the Patient’s Jaw Go Away?," 18 Apr. 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.