Histology of the Blood Part 1

Today's Medical Topic:  Histology of Blood.  Since we did hematopoiesis it makes sense we should look at the cell's generated in that process one by one.

What Are We Looking For:  Identifying features, and what makes them what they are.

The Tissue Sample:  We have a bunch of samples and we are going to do this in a couple, maybe three parts.  First up granulocytes.

What are granulocytes?  Well they all arise from ancestral stem cells, more specifically, A myeloid stem cell.  They are all characterized by the granules in their cytoplasm that pick up dye.  There are three types.  Eoisinophils, basophils, and neutrophils.

1000x Magnification

This is a neutrophil.  

• It has a multilobed nucleus, usually three but it can have more.  
• Neutrophils phagocytize bacteria, meaning they eat and bust up bacteria that isn't supposed to be there.  
• It is very difficult to discern granules in a neutrophil because they don't pick up stain well.
• Neutrophils are just slightly larger than the surrounding red blood cells.
• Easily the most abundant granulocyte in the blood.

1000x Magnification

This is an eiosinophil.  

• Still about the same size as a neutrophil.  
• This guy has a bilobed nucleus and granules that stain RED, not purple.
• Much less of these than the neutrophil, and harder to find on a slide.
• Eiosinophils kill parasitic worms and also have some more complicated roles.

Okay so this next one is not one that is easy to find.  They are in 1% of 1% of your blood.  I couldn't find one on any of the slides I looked at. SO.....TO THE INTERWEBS!

Probably more than 1000x?

This is a basophil.

• Still around the same size as the previous two
• Bilobed nucleus with big granules that stain dark PURPLE.
• These guys release histamine, and other inflammation chemicals and also contain heparin

Next time we do agranulocytes.

Send questions or comments to dudaday@gmail.com

Disclaimer:  I am not a health care provider, any information presented in this blog should not be considered advice it is mearly an outlet to slake my curiosity.  You should always consult your primary medical provider for any concerns or illness.  Unlike Tylenol, I am not approved by the FDA or American Medical Association to treat or provide relief for any ailment.