Blood, defence and circulation

Red cells carry oxygen, white cells fight pathogens, and cardiac output is stroke volume multiplied by heart rate.

A worked example

A heart beating 62 times a minute at 80 mL per beat has a cardiac output of 62 x 80 = 4 960 mL/min, about 5.0 L/min.

The mistake people actually make

Antibodies bind to a specific antigen and mark the pathogen for destruction; they do not destroy it themselves. Smoking, saturated fat and high blood pressure raise cardiovascular risk, while exercise lowers it.

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