what are the functions of the blood plasma
Blood plasma Blood plasma is a yellowish coloured liquid component of blood that normally holds the blood cells in whole blood in suspension; this makes plasma the extracellular matrix of blood cells. It makes up about 55% of the body's total blood volume.[1] It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid (all body fluid outside cells). It is mostly water (up to 95% by volume), and contains dissolved proteins (6–8%) (i.e.—serum albumins, globulins, and fibrinogen),[2] glucose, clotting factors, electrolytes (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3−, Cl−, etc.), hormones, carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation) and oxygen. Plasma also serves as the protein reserve of the human body. It plays a vital role in an intravascular osmotic effect that keeps electrolytes in balanced form and protects the body from infection and other blood disorders.[3]
Interstitial fluid Not all of the contents of the blood pass into the tissue fluid, which means that tissue fluid and blood are not the same. Red blood cells and platelets cannot pass through the walls of the capillaries. The resulting mixture that does pass through is, in essence, blood plasma with lower concentration of plasma proteins. Tissue fluid also contains some types of white blood cell, which help combat infection.