Red blood cell

The blood cell that carries oxygen.

Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide).

Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment.

It gives the cell its red color (and name).

The mature red blood cell (RBC) is a non-nucleated biconcave disk.

Thanks to this unusual shape and its hemoglobin content, the RBC is superbly suited to the transport of oxygen.

A red blood cell is sometimes simply referred to as a red cell.

It is also called an erythrocyte or, rarely today, a red blood corpuscle.