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),
Fatty acid metabolism are able to synthesize their own fatty acids from the blood glucose, is not known. The cells of the central nervous system will almost certainly have the capability of manufacturing their own fatty acids, as these molecules cannot reach them through the blood brain barrier, while, on the other hand, no cell in the body can manufacture the required essential fatty acids which have to be obtained from the diet and delivered to each cell via the blood. Much like beta-oxidation, straight-chain fatty acid synthesis occurs via the six recurring reactions shown below, until the 16-carbon palmitic acid is produced.