White Blood Cells & their Functions in the Human Body — A GUIDE

Here’s What You Need To Know about White Blood Cells (WBC) in Human Body

WHITE BLOOD CELLS – You can read here the details about the nature and functions of the WBC in the human body.

Science has a wide scope. Among the topics discussed under this subject are the kinds of blood cells that are present inside the human body. It is important to know these cells and their functions even if you have no plans of pursuing a career in line with the field of Science.

White Blood Cells
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One of the major blood cell type inside the human body is the White Blood Cell. Also popularly called WBC, this is the type of blood cell that is made in the bone marrow. It is found in the blood and lymph tissues and is an integral part of the body’s immune system.

The White Blood Cells’ main function is to help the body fight infections and other diseases. There are different types of WBC, also called leukocytes, which you can check below.

WBC
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The types of White Blood Cells including the following:

  • granulytes
    • eosinophils
    • neutrophils
    • basophils
  • monocytes
  • lymphocytes
    • T cells
    • B cells

Before discussing the specific functions of each type of WBC, it is important to know the general functions of this type of blood cell. Here are the three (3) main functions of this blood cell type:

  • help the body fight infections
  • remove cancerous cells from the body
  • remove old cells from the body

The five main types of White Blood Cells have specific functions. Here are the main functions of each type of WBC:

  • Lymphocites — The lymphocites are composed of the B cells, T cells, and the natural killer cells. This type of WBC protects the body from viral infections by producing proteins or antibodies to help fight infection.
  • Neutrophils — The neutrophils protects the body from infections by killing fungi, bacteria, and foreign debris.
  • Basophils — This type of White Blood Cell produce an allergic response like sneezing, coughing, and runny nose to protect the body.
  • Eosinophils — These White Blood Cells help determine and destroy cancer cells and parasites. They assist the basophils in producing an allergic response.
  • Monocytes — The monocytes protects the body from infection by cleaning up the damaged cells.

A low number of white blood cells in the body can be caused by various reasons. Among these include a weak immune system, cancer of the blood, infection, medicines, and many other conditions. The normal number of white blood cells in the blood is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter.

With regards to white blood cells conditions, when the WBC is either too higgh or too low, here are some of the signs that may show it:

  • fever
  • body pains
  • chills
  • wounds that are red, swollen, and won’t heal
  • frequent infections
  • persistent cough
  • difficulty breathing

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