alleryStart learning →How many platelets does each megakaryocyte release during its lifespan?
AAbout 2000 to 3000
BAbout 20 to 30
CAbout 150 to 500
DAbout 50 to 100
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. About 2000 to 3000
1. A megakaryocyte is large, typically 50 to 100 micrometers, with an enlarged lobed nucleus.
2. Platelets are small at 2 to 4 micrometers, so one parent cell can yield a great many of them.
3. Each megakaryocyte releases 2000 to 3000 platelets during its lifespan.
4. What remains afterwards is little more than a nucleus, and macrophages consume it.
5. The figure of 50 to 100 is the megakaryocyte diameter in micrometers, planted as a unit trap.
6. Thrombopoietin from the liver and kidneys is what drives megakaryoblasts to mature into these platelet-shedding cells.
_Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (CC BY 4.0), Ch 18 "The Cardiovascular System: Blood", section 18.4 Leukocytes and Platelets_
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