Email Template Functions and Properties of Blood Role of blood in respiration, nutrition, waste elimination, thermoregulation, immune defense, acid-base balance, water balance, and internal communication. If the proteins are removed from the plasma, the serum is all that remains. The three major types of plasma proteins play a variety of roles, including defense, clotting, and transport.
Albumins are the smallest and most abundant of the plasma proteins.
They make major contributions to viscosity and osmolarity, and changes in their abundance can influence blood pressure, flow, and fluid balance. Fibrinogen is the soluble precursor of fibrin, a protein involved in clotting. The liver produces all plasma proteins with the exception of gamma globulin, which is produced by cells of the immune system. Nonprotein Nitrogenous Substances Nonprotein nitrogenous substances in the blood are the amino acids from the digestive tract, and nitrogenous wastes, the toxic end products of catabolism. Nutrients Various nutrients coming from the digestive tract are transported by plasma.