Erythropoiesis in Health and Disease – Erythropoietin’s In Charge!

Introduction: The Dutch naturalist Jan Swammerdam was the first individual to microscopically observe red blood cells (RBCs) or erythrocytes in the year 1658. Credit for the discovery of RBCs, however, often goes to Anton van Leeuwenhoek, another Dutch scientist who made the first recorded illustration of RBCs in 1695, writing, “I have observed, taking some blood out of my hand, that it consists of small round globules driven through a crystalline humidity of water” (Windsor and Rodway, 2007). These observations helped unveil the physiological significance of RBCs, the most common cell type found in blood. In fact, RBCs are the most abundant cell type in the human body, constituting about a quarter of all cells. RBCs serve a critical role as principal transporters of oxygen and carbon dioxide between organs, thus making them pivotal for the existence of all vertebrates (Palis, 2014).