A red blood cell that carries oxygen from lungs to tissues using hemoglobin. These disc-shaped cells lack nuclei and organelles, living about 120 days in circulation.
From Greek 'erythros' (red) + 'kytos' (cell), coined in 1894. The name literally means 'red cell,' distinguishing these colored cells from the colorless white blood cells observed under early microscopes.
Erythrocytes are cellular minimalists - they've ejected their nucleus and organelles to make maximum room for hemoglobin! This sacrifice means they can't repair themselves and only live 4 months, but it allows each cell to be packed with 280 million hemoglobin molecules.
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