Why is the shape of red blood cells important?

People often say it's to maximize surface area to volume ratio and thus the efficiency of oxygen diffusion from the blood plasma to all the hemoglobin in the RBC. I used to write that myself. read more

People often say it’s to maximize surface area to volume ratio and thus the efficiency of oxygen diffusion from the blood plasma to all the hemoglobin in the RBC. read more

Erythrocyte cells (red blood cell) concave disc shape is important because it provides extra surface area for the uptake of respiratory gases. read more

Its shape helps it perform its job, which is mainly to transport oxygen. A red blood cell is shaped somewhat like a donut--thinner in the center (on both sides) than at the edges. This gives it a larger cell membrane surface area so it can be exposed to more oxygen when it is traveling through the lungs. read more