Nucleated red blood cell Nucleated red blood cell All vertebrate organisms have hemoglobin-containing cells in their blood and with the exception of mammals, all of these red blood cells contain a nucleus. Mammals represent ~5,500 named species out of ~66,000 vertebrate species, and within this ~8% subgroup, red blood cells are known as erythrocytes or RBCs and lack a cell nucleus in mature organisms. In contrast, a nucleated red blood cell (NRBC), also known by several other names, is a mammalian RBC that contains a cell nucleus. NRBCs occur in normal development as progenitor cells in the erythropoietic lineage and in pathological states. Normally,
Red blood cell (the remaining oxygen is carried dissolved in the blood plasma). The red blood cells of an average adult human male store collectively about 2.5 grams of iron, representing about 65% of the total iron contained in the body. Red blood cells in mammals "anucleate" when mature, meaning that they lack a cell nucleus. In comparison, the red blood cells of other vertebrates have nuclei; the only known exceptions are salamanders of the genus "Batrachoseps" and fish of the genus "Maurolicus". The elimination of the nucleus in vertebrate red blood cells has been offered as an explanation for the subsequent accumulation