the.com/leukocyte
Your blood's immune militia, no uniform, infinite shapes, zero chill toward invaders.
means A white blood cell — one of several types of immune cells in blood and tissue that detect, attack, and clean up pathogens and debris.
from From Greek leukos, 'white,' plus kytos, 'hollow vessel' or 'cell' — the same kytos that gives us 'cell' words generally. The name is purely descriptive: under early microscopes these cells looked pale and clear against the red mass of erythrocytes ('red,' from erythros), so they got filed simply as the 'white' ones. Coined in the 19th century as microscopy and blood science matured enough to tell cell types apart by sight.
- name origin
- greek for white cell
- variety
- five distinct types, each with a job
- lifespan
- some live hours, others years
- birthplace
- made in bone marrow daily