Which statement about red blood cells is true?

Which statement about red blood cells is true?

• A. No organelles and anucleate
• B. Nucleated
• C. Mitochondria throughout
• D. Ribosomes in cytoplasm

Answer: (A)

Red blood cells mature specifically to maximize hemoglobin content, so they shed most cellular machinery during development. In humans, the mature cell has no nucleus and lacks most organelles, freeing space for hemoglobin and allowing the flexible, biconcave shape needed to navigate tiny capillaries. Because there are no mitochondria, these cells cannot perform oxidative phosphorylation and rely on glycolysis in the cytoplasm for energy. This combination means there are no organelles and the cell is anucleate, with no ribosomes in the cytoplasm of the mature form. The other statements don’t fit: a nucleated red blood cell would still have a nucleus; having mitochondria throughout would imply energy processes that mature RBCs do not carry out; and having ribosomes would indicate ongoing protein synthesis, which mature RBCs do not perform.

Red blood cells mature specifically to maximize hemoglobin content, so they shed most cellular machinery during development. In humans, the mature cell has no nucleus and lacks most organelles, freeing space for hemoglobin and allowing the flexible, biconcave shape needed to navigate tiny capillaries. Because there are no mitochondria, these cells cannot perform oxidative phosphorylation and rely on glycolysis in the cytoplasm for energy. This combination means there are no organelles and the cell is anucleate, with no ribosomes in the cytoplasm of the mature form. The other statements don’t fit: a nucleated red blood cell would still have a nucleus; having mitochondria throughout would imply energy processes that mature RBCs do not carry out; and having ribosomes would indicate ongoing protein synthesis, which mature RBCs do not perform.