White blood cells
White Blood Cells (leucocytes) are all of the cells in the blood which, unlike Red Blood Cells, do not contain hemoglobin. They make up about 1% of blood and have an average life time of 4 days.They are formed from heamatopoetic (multipotent) stem cells in the bone marrow. From there the white blood cells migrate into the tissues in response to chemokines to take place in the immune response [1].
Types of White Blood Cell
| Cell type | % of total white blood cells | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Lymphocyte | 30 | B lymphocytes make antibodies. T lymphocytes target cells infected by viruses |
| Monocyte | 5 | Form macrophages for phagocytosis |
| Neutrophil | 60 | Phagocitosis |
| Eosinophil | 2.5 | Target parasites |
| Basophil | 2.5 | Secrete Histamine |
References
- ↑ Alberts, Johnson, Lewis, Raff, Roberts and Walter (2008) Molecular Biology of The Cell, fifth edition, New York: Garland Science. 23:1451,1455