Understanding the Components of Blood: The Buffy Coat

What percentage does the buffy coat occupy in the blood?

a) 1% b) 5% c) 10% d) 20%

Answer:

The buffy coat, consisting of white blood cells and platelets, occupies about 1% of the total blood volume.

The buffy coat is a thin, pale layer of leukocytes (white blood cells) and platelets that separates the Erythrocytes (red blood cells) from the plasma in a sample of centrifuged blood. This layer is quite small in comparison to the overall volume of a blood sample. In terms of percentages, the buffy coat typically constitutes about 1% of the total blood volume, so the correct choice would be option a) 1%.

Remember, even though this percentage is small, these cells and platelets play critical roles in our body's immune response and in blood clotting.