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White blood cell
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White blood cells, known technically as leukocytes, are the defense cells of the blood. They are part of the immune system and participate in both the innate and humoral responses.
They are not all alike, and the classic way to group them is to look at their cytoplasm under the microscope after staining. The ones with visible granules are the granulocytes: the neutrophil, the basophil and the eosinophil. The ones without them are the agranulocytes: the lymphocyte and the monocyte.
When tissue is injured or infected, white blood cells move to that spot, and there they mount the inflammatory response, which is the name for the defensive reaction they produce at the site of damage. Blood is the highway they travel to reach those sites.
In brief
White blood cells, or leukocytes, comprise several types of immune cells that take part in the innate and humoral responses.
They are divided into granulocytes such as the neutrophil, basophil and eosinophil, which show granules when stained, and agranulocytes such as the lymphocyte and monocyte.
They circulate in the blood and migrate to sites of injury or infection, where they mount the inflammatory response.
Blood is the highway they travel to reach injured or infected tissue.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHistology, White Blood Cell, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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