"White blood cells" redirects here. For the album, see White Blood Cells."Leucocyte" redirects here. For the album, see Leucocyte (album).
White blood cell
A scanning electron microscope image of normal circulating human blood. In addition to the irregularly shaped leukocytes, both red blood cells and many small disc-shaped platelets are visible.
Details
System
Immune system
Identifiers
Acronym(s)
WBC
MeSH
D007962
TH
H2.00.04.1.02001
FMA
62852
Anatomical terms of microanatomy
[edit on Wikidata]
White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. White blood cells include three main subtypes: granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes.[1]
All white blood cells are produced and derived from multipotent cells in the bone marrow known as hematopoietic stem cells.[2] Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system.[3] All white blood cells have nuclei, which distinguishes them from the other blood cells, the anucleated red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. The different white blood cells are usually classified by cell lineage (myeloid cells or lymphoid cells). White blood cells are part of the body's immune system. They help the body fight infection and other diseases. Types of white blood cells are granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils), and agranulocytes (monocytes, and lymphocytes (T cells and B cells)).[4] Myeloid cells (myelocytes) include neutrophils, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, and monocytes.[5] Monocytes are further subdivided into dendritic cells and macrophages. Monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils are phagocytic. Lymphoid cells (lymphocytes) include T cells (subdivided into helper T cells, memory T cells, cytotoxic T cells), B cells (subdivided into plasma cells and memory B cells), and natural killer cells. Historically, white blood cells were classified by their physical characteristics (granulocytes and agranulocytes), but this classification system is less frequently used now. Produced in the bone marrow, white blood cells defend the body against infections and disease. An excess of white blood cells is usually due to infection or inflammation. Less commonly, a high white blood cell count could indicate certain blood cancers or bone marrow disorders.
The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease, and thus the white blood cell count is an important subset of the complete blood count. The normal white cell count is usually between 4 × 109/L and 1.1 × 1010/L. In the US, this is usually expressed as 4,000 to 11,000 white blood cells per microliter of blood.[6] White blood cells make up approximately 1% of the total blood volume in a healthy adult,[7] making them substantially less numerous than the red blood cells at 40% to 45%. However, this 1% of the blood makes a large difference to health, because immunity depends on it. An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis. It is normal when it is part of healthy immune responses, which happen frequently. It is occasionally abnormal, when it is neoplastic or autoimmune in origin. A decrease below the lower limit is called leukopenia. This indicates a weakened immune system.
^"leukocyte". www.cancer.gov. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
^Monga I, Kaur K, Dhanda S (March 2022). "Revisiting hematopoiesis: applications of the bulk and single-cell transcriptomics dissecting transcriptional heterogeneity in hematopoietic stem cells". Briefings in Functional Genomics. 21 (3): 159–176. doi:10.1093/bfgp/elac002. PMID 35265979.
^Maton D, Hopkins J, McLaughlin CW, Johnson S, Warner MQ, LaHart D, Wright JD, Kulkarni DV (1997). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, US: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.
^"Definition of white blood cell". www.cancer.gov. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
^LaFleur-Brooks M (2008). Exploring Medical Language: A Student-Directed Approach (7th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri, US: Mosby Elsevier. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-323-04950-4.
^"Vital and Health Statistics Series 11, No. 247 (03/2005)" (PDF). Retrieved 2 February 2014.
^Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis M, Raff M, Roberts K, Walter P (2002). "Leukocyte also known as macrophagesfunctions and percentage breakdown". Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th ed.). New York: Garland Science. ISBN 0-8153-4072-9.
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information about the cells in a person's blood. The CBC indicates the counts of whitebloodcells, red bloodcells and platelets, the concentration of hemoglobin...
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(leukos) 'white', and πενία (penia) 'deficiency') is a decrease in the number of leukocytes (WBC). Found in the blood, they are the whitebloodcells, and...
the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red bloodcells, white blood...
lymphocyte is a type of whitebloodcell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include T cells (for cell-mediated and cytotoxic...
these should be seen in association with loose bacteria, whitebloodcells, and whitebloodcell casts. Their discovery is likely rare, due to the infection-fighting...
Leukocytosis is a condition in which the whitecell (leukocyte) count is above the normal range in the blood. It is frequently a sign of an inflammatory...
crystals, cells, bacteria, and mucus can impart a cloudy appearance. A milky appearance can be caused by a very high concentration of whitebloodcells or fats...
Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or effector B cells, are whitebloodcells that originate in the lymphoid organs as B cells and secrete large...
Red bloodcells (RBCs), scientific name erythrocytes (from ancient Greek erythros 'red' and kytos 'hollow vessel', with -cyte translated as 'cell' in...
almost all bloodcells (red bloodcells, whitebloodcells, platelets, monocytes, lymphocytes, etc.). If only two parameters from the complete blood count...
complete blood count results, along with hemoglobin concentration, whitebloodcell count and platelet count. Because the purpose of red bloodcells is to...
endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph...
Packed red bloodcells, also known as packed cells, are red bloodcells that have been separated for blood transfusion. The packed cells are typically...
circulating whitebloodcells, and consisting of two subpopulations: neutrophil-killers and neutrophil-cagers. One litre of human blood contains about...
refers to the condition where the proportion of lymphocytes relative to whitebloodcell count is above the normal range. In adults, absolute lymphocytosis...
regards to artificial red bloodcells and platelets for use in emergency blood transfusions, research into artificial whitebloodcells has been focused on...
rapid cell division. The excessive immature lymphocytes in the bone marrow interfere with the production of new red bloodcells, whitebloodcells, and...
phagocytes include many types of whitebloodcells (such as neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, mast cells, and dendritic cells). The main difference between...
formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten billion...
B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of whitebloodcell of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the...
allow the various bloodcells to be examined microscopically. Blood smears are examined in the investigation of hematological (blood) disorders and are...
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