Red blood cell (RBC, erythrocyte):
Chapter: 20a
A bi-concave disc of 7-8 um, 90 fL volume, and observed on a peripheral blood smear as a round, anucleate cell with a central pallor. A mature red blood cell is without a nucleus or mitochondria, and therefore does not synthesize protein, DNA or RNA. ATP is generated through anaerobic metabolism, primarily by the Emben-Meirhoff pathway. RBCs function to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide.