This post is a little out of order, but I want to discuss the different white blood cells (wbc's). White blood cells have a nucleus and do not contain any hemoglobin, unlike red blood cells. They can live from a few hours to a few days. Wbc's that have granules end in -phil and wbc's that don't have granules end in -cyte. Neutrophils are the most prevalent of the wbc's. They have a multi lobed nucleus and their main function is phagocytosis. They can destroy bacteria with lysozyme or hydrogen peroxide. Lymphocyctes have a large bi-concave nucleus and their function is to mediate immune responses. The T-cells attack viruses and the B-cells secrete antibodies. Monocytes are the largest of the wbc's, have a kidney shaped nucleus and have phagocytic capabilities. When they leave the blood stream they become macrophages. Eosinophils have a 2-lobed nucleus connected by chromatin. The granules are a red/orange color. They combat the effects of histamine in allergic reactions. Basophils are the least common wbc. They contain so many granules (blue/purple in color) that you cannot see the nucleus which has 2 lobes. Basophils intensify overall inflammatory response. They release heparin, histamine, and seratonin.
Cell counts are very important in my line of work. MD's will order a cbc (complete blood count) to try to detect infection, inflammation, or to monitor disease. A high or low count of any one of the categories of wbc's indicates a different condition. With my new knowledge of the different wbc's and their importance I can now understand what this test means and how to detect different disease.
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Great Comment Sarah. I also thought that White blood cells could only live for a few hours to a few days but after reading the lab book, I found out that I believe that it is lymphocytes that can live for months to a year. Great post!
ReplyDeleteSarah, I work at Eastern Maine Hospital and when I hear that they are having a CBC done I know what they mean, complete blood count, but I never quite understood the concept. I plan on being a nurse one day and after learning about the different types of white blood cells I already feel like I am more in the "loop" of things at work. haha. This is was a nice blog to read. It was broken down nicely.
ReplyDeleteHey Sara This was a great break down of the White blood cells. I had never really thought about the CBC before... and I work at a hospital too but it doesn't relate to my work even though I hear it called out often when I'm around the nurses etc.
ReplyDeleteYou should have thrown out the saying too to remember the order from most to least :) "Never Let Monkeys Eat Bannannas!" I will never forget it, hahaha.
Also I went back and was reviewing the WBC's and did ya know that when monocytes leave the blood into the tissues and become macrophages there is two different types? We got Fixed macrophages that reside in a particular tissue like the lungs or the spleen, and we have Wandering macrophages that obviously roam the tissues and gather at the sites of infection or inflammation. We know what happens from there...
Nice blog!