Platelet Structure and Function in Hemostasis and Thrombosis Susan S. Smyth PLATELET STRUCTURE Structural and Functional Anatomy Light Microscopy Light microscopy of Wright-stained smears (Fig. 16.1) reveals platelets as small,…
Effector Mechanisms in Immunity Frixos Paraskevas MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX The function of the immune system is under genetic control1 and molecular genetic studies have helped to elucidate the mechanism of…
Megakaryocytes Amy E. Geddis Megakaryocytes are large polyploid cells within the bone marrow that produce circulating platelets. Platelets are small anucleate cells that play an essential role in hemostasis, both…
T Lymphocytes and Natural Killer Cells Frixos Paraskevas MORPHOLOGY The T lymphocyte under routine staining procedures (Giemsa or Wright) is 5 to 8 µm in diameter, with a high nucleocytoplasmic…
B Lymphocytes Frixos Paraskevas ONTOGENY Pluripotential stem cells give rise to all hematopoietic lineages, undergoing asymmetric division, i.e., one daughter cell follows a pathway of differentiation, whereas the other remains…
Monocytes, Macrophages, and Dendritic Cells Matthew Collin Derralynn A. Hughes Annette Plüddemann Siamon Gordon INTRODUCTION Monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) constitute a group of myeloid cells which share common…
Lymphocytes and Lymphatic Organs Frixos Paraskevas LYMPHOCYTES: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE In the early part of the 20th century, the main debate about the nature and function of the lymphocyte centered around…
The Human Eosinophil Paige Lacy Darryl J. Adamko Redwan Moqbel INTRODUCTION The eosinophil was first described for its characteristic intracytoplasmic granules exhibiting a high affinity for the negatively charged dye,…
Mast Cells and Basophils: Ontogeny, Characteristics, and Functional Diversity A. Dean Befus Kelly M. McNagny Judah A. Denburg INTRODUCTION In 1965, Selye1 reviewed the literature on two populations of basophilic…
Neutrophilic Leukocytes Keith M. Skubitz Three types of granulocytes are readily identified in peripheral blood smears. Neutrophils are so named because of their neutral staining with Wright stain, whereas eosinophils…
