Blood and Lymph are the essential components of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems. Blood flows in the blood vessels, while Lymph fluid flows in the vessels of the lymphatic system. These are the crucial components for the survival of every living organism.
Main Difference
Furthermore, blood is the form of connective tissue that exists in fluid form. Blood forms in the bone marrow of bones, while Lymph is derived by blood filtration in the capillaries. Blood and Lymph have different structures and functions. Let us discuss the significant differences between Blood and Lymph.
What is Blood?
Almost every living organism contains a fluid with the fundamental particles essential for processing life. Blood is the form of fluid connective tissue, which includes nutrients, respiratory gases, waste materials, and dead cells in the form of dissolved substances.
Blood forms the 1/12th part of the human body, with a pH of about 7.35. Moreover, there are plasma proteins, organic nutrients, inorganic nutrients, nitrogenous waste, and other essential substances. There are three types of blood cells viz. Red Blood Cells(RBC), White Blood Cells(WBC), and platelets. These cells form 45% of blood.
Functions of Blood
- Transportation of respiratory gases
- Mainatanice of osmotic pressure
- Defense of the human body
- Blood clotting
- Excretion of waste materials
- Exchange of materials
What is Lymph?
Lymph originates when blood is filtered through the passage of capillaries. It is the chief component of the Lymphatic system, which helps maintain human immunity. With the filtration of every 30 liters of blood, 3 liters of Lymph are formed.
Lymph contains a lot of substances, such as ions, nutrients, gases, proteins, hormones, enzymes, and waste products. The lymphatic system consists of Lymph capillaries, Lymph nodes, and Lymph vessels. The flow of lymph empties in the subclavian vein.
Functions of Lymph
- Returns the extracellular substances to the blood
- Absorption of fat globules
- Defense of body
- Kill bacteria and viruses
- Mainataince of body organs
Key Differences between Blood and Lymph
- Blood is part of the vascular system, while Lypmh is part of the lymphatic system.
- Blood flows in the blood vessels, while Lymph flows in the lymphatic vessels.
- Blood is formed in the red bone marrow, while the filtration of blood forms Lymph.
- Blood appears red, while Lymph is colorless in appearance.
- Blood has less number of lymphocytes as compared to Lymph.
- Blood transport materials from one part of the body to another, while Lymph returns the filtered fluid into the blood.
Comparison table of Blood vs. Lymph
| Feature | Blood | Lymph |
| Component of | Vascular system | Lymphatic system |
| Flows in | Blood vessels | Lymph vessels |
| Oxygen content | High | Low |
| Formed in | Red bone marrow | Filtration of blood in capillaries |
Conclusion
In a nutshell, we can say that Blood and Lymph are pretty different. They have different compositions and different functions. However, they are a crucial component of every human being.