RBC Physiology — Blood & Immune Physiology

RBC Physiology MCQs: practice questions

Sample RBC Physiology multiple-choice questions from Blood & Immune Physiology.

1. The major site of red blood cell production in a healthy adult is:

   • A. Spleen only
   • B. Thymus
   • C. Bone marrow
   • D. Kidney
   • E. Lymph node

2. Carbon monoxide poisoning is dangerous because carbon monoxide:

   • A. Destroys platelets
   • B. Activates B cells
   • C. Blocks ABO antigens
   • D. Binds hemoglobin and interferes with oxygen transport
   • E. Increases erythropoietin immediately

3. Which blood component contains hemoglobin?

   • A. Plasma
   • B. Platelets
   • C. Red blood cells
   • D. Neutrophils
   • E. Lymphocytes

4. A patient has a marked reduction in hematocrit. Which change is most likely?

   • A. Increased antibody specificity
   • B. Increased platelet fraction only
   • C. Reduced RBC fraction of blood
   • D. Loss of all plasma water
   • E. Increased ABO antigen number

5. Most oxygen in arterial blood is transported:

   • A. Dissolved freely in plasma
   • B. Bound to albumin
   • C. As bicarbonate
   • D. Bound to hemoglobin
   • E. Inside platelets

6. The main function of hemoglobin is to:

7. Old or damaged RBCs are removed largely by macrophages in the:

8. Iron is important in hemoglobin because it:

9. The biconcave shape of an RBC primarily helps it by:

10. Which cell is most directly replaced after normal RBC destruction?

11. Hemoglobin contributes to blood color because it:

12. A patient has reduced RBC number but normal hemoglobin concentration per cell. The major physiologic consequence is:

13. The lifespan of a typical human red blood cell is approximately:

14. The primary effect of erythropoietin is to:

15. A decrease in hemoglobin concentration would most directly reduce blood:

16. Which RBC-related variable most directly determines the amount of oxygen blood can carry?

17. A patient with chronic hypoxemia has elevated erythropoietin. Which marrow response is expected?

18. Why does an RBC's lack of mitochondria help its oxygen-transport role?

19. Anemia refers broadly to a reduction in:

20. If hemoglobin concentration falls while arterial oxygen pressure remains normal, arterial oxygen content will:

21. Which formed element is primarily responsible for transporting oxygen in blood?

22. Hematocrit is best defined as the:

23. Erythropoietin is produced mainly by the:

24. A mature human red blood cell normally lacks a:

25. A patient with chronic kidney disease develops anemia because the kidneys normally provide a signal required for:

26. A mature RBC is well suited for gas transport because it has:

27. A patient living at high altitude develops increased RBC production. The initiating stimulus is most directly:

28. A fall in renal oxygen delivery normally causes erythropoietin secretion to:

29. A patient has polycythemia with increased RBC mass. Which blood property tends to increase?

30. The oxygen-carrying protein inside red blood cells is: