Red blood cell blood circulation for about 100 to 120 days (and 80 to 90 days in a full term infant). At the end of their lifespan, they are removed from circulation. In many chronic diseases, the lifespan of the red blood cells is reduced. Erythropoiesis is the process by which new red blood cells are produced; it lasts about 7 days. Through this process red blood cells are continuously produced in the red bone marrow of large bones. (In the embryo, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production.) The production can be stimulated by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO),
Blood red wound, and it does not change color upon exposure to air. The color "blood red", therefore, covers both these states: the darker deoxygenated color and the brighter oxygenated one. Also, dried blood often has a darker, rust-colored quality: all dried blood has been oxygenated and then desiccated, causing the cells within it to die. This blood is often darker than either shade of red that can be seen in fresh blood. In the RGB color spectrum blood red often consists only of the color red, with no green or blue component; in the CYMK color model blood red has no