Chapter 14: Blood

Tell a Story: Polly Cythemia and Her Oxygen. An elderly patient with emphysema was chronically hypoxic and developed an elevated hematocrit. Why, you ask? In response to the low tissue levels of oxygen, the kidneys secrete the hormone, erythropoietin. This hormone travels via the blood to the bone marrow, where it stimulates the formation of red blood cells. The increases amount of hemoglobin ... ................
................