OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaBlood is the delivery system inside your body! It flows through tubes called blood vessels, carrying oxygen from your lungs and nutrients from your food to every part of you. Blood is one of the most important things in your body.
Blood has different parts that each do special jobs. Red blood cells carry oxygen and give blood its red color. White blood cells fight germs and help you get better when you are sick. Your heart pumps blood around your whole body all the time!
Blood carries away waste that your body does not need. If you get a small cut, tiny pieces in your blood called platelets clump together to stop the bleeding and form a scab. Eating foods with iron, like beans and spinach, helps your body make healthy red blood cells!
- Your body has about a gallon of blood, but kids have a little less!
- Your blood travels through your entire body in less than one minute.
- A single drop of blood contains about 5 million red blood cells — they are so tiny you can’t even see them!
