Why Is blood red?
Are you "red"-y to learn what makes blood its distinctive color?
To find out, let's take a look into its components.
Human blood can be broken down into several important parts.
One of them is plasma, the liquid component of blood.
By itself, it's a yellowish liquid that makes up about 55% of the total blood volume.
The majority of the remaining content is composed of red blood cells, which deliver oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
It may come as no surprise to hear that red blood cells are the cause of blood's characteristic color.
This type of blood cell contains a protein called hemoglobin, a molecule that consists in part of iron.
When the iron reacts with oxygen, it becomes red, turning the blood cells and blood itself the same color as a result.
