Which component of blood serves as the liquid medium that carries nutrients and wastes?

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Plasma is the liquid component of blood that carries nutrients and wastes. It makes up most of blood’s volume and is mainly water with dissolved substances and plasma proteins. Through plasma, nutrients absorbed from digestion, vitamins, minerals, and hormones travel to cells, while waste products produced by cells are carried away to organs for elimination. This liquid medium is what distributes these substances throughout the body, supporting the needs of tissues like the skin. The other options describe different things: the lymphatic system is a separate drainage network; blood capillaries are tiny vessels that transport blood, not the fluid itself; and oedema refers to swelling from fluid buildup, not a blood component.