erythrocyte

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erythrocyte (red blood cell) The most numerous type of blood cell, which contains the red pigment haemoglobin and is responsible for oxygen transport. Mammalian erythrocytes are disc-shaped and lack a nucleus; those of other vertebrates are oval and nucleated. In humans the number of erythrocytes in the blood varies between 4.5 and 5.5 million per cubic millimetre. They survive for about four months and are then destroyed in the spleen and liver. See also erythropoiesis. Compare leucocyte.

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