Is blood a colloid?

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No time to write the fiasco that is going on with school right now, that will come later but for now this is my question.

IS BLOOD CONSIDERED A COLLOID COLUTION? AND IF IT IS, I NEED PROOF.

I know it sounds crazy lol..but unfortunately graduation in May depends on scrounging up hidden points on quizzes from last semester. I got this wrong on a quiz and so did half the class. The prof said if I could find prof that blood was a colloid Id get an exta 5 points....to her it is not considered a colloid.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Here ya go for your extra points:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloid

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-04/1083292461.Im.r.html

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WOO HOO...THANKS!

I MAY HAVE A COUPLE MORE AFTER I LOOK THROUGHT THE REST OF MY QUIZZES. THANKS SO MUCH!!

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I think you're going to lose this argument. A colloid is a solution in which the particles within it remain uniformly distributed. That is not true of blood. Blood cells separate out of a solution of blood quite easily upon standing.

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ok...IM CONFUSED AGAIN...

SOME ARE SAYING YES, SOME ARE SAYING NO.

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Specializes in ICU-CVICU.

I'm going with NOT a colloid. Particle sizes in its constitution & separation on standing disqualify blood. More likely, blood is a suspension. Some of the elements that separate from blood (plasma, for example) are colloids just as some (0.9% NS) are crystalloids.

Just my 2 cents.

May

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Blood is a sol, which is lypophobic, and there are lypophobic colloids.

Does this help? ;)

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Specializes in Trauma.

Normally, under normal conditions blood is stable. It is properly referred to as a colloidal suspension when it is stable. But, if you subject blood to high forces such as in centrifuging, then the blood cells will separate out and it is no longer stable. Does that make sense? I remember that from physiology lab:)

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no offense, siri, but i don't think a prof will consider wikipedia an authoritative site

I agree blood is a colloid because the suspended particles in blood are of the right dimensions for it to be considered a sol, a type of colloid.

According to IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)the term colloidal refers to a state of subdivision, implying that the molecules or polymolecular particles dispersed in a medium have at least in one direction a dimension roughly between 1 nm and 1µm, or that in a system discontinuities are found at distances of that order. Any 'stable' heterogeneous mixture composed of a continuous phase and a disperse phase of dimensions of the order (approximately) 10 nanometres - 1 micron such as blood, qualifies.

You can access the colloid definition at the IUPAC site at

http://www.iupac.org/reports/2001/colloid_2001/manual_of_s_and_t/node33.html

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Specializes in SICU.

For a good answer to your colloid question that you can refer the professor to, see: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-04/1083292461.Im.r.html

**sorry for the redundant link**

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

You are correct, jov. The wikipedia link is a lay FYI only regarding colloids and wouldn't be an authoratative drop in the educative bucket of life..........

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