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lymphocyte

lymphocyte

8 5.8
A white blood cell that helps the body fight infection
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪmfəˌsaɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : linfocito
  • However, the three treatments reduced lymphocyte numbers to 3000-5000/mL and also reduced the mediastinal and retroperitoneal lymph node masses.
  • T-lymphocytes
  • lymphocyte count
  • CD4 lymphocytes

Because in theory, you can always find some lymphocytes in a patient's tumor.

Examples

  • At lumbar puncture, most patients had a slightly raised CSF protein, and some had a CSF lymphocyte pleocytosis.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Some of these lymphocytes are really good at fighting bad guys, like viruses and bacteria.

  • My lymphocyte count is 22 percent.

  • The results of a lymphocyte transformation test were reported as not significant.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In every drop of blood there are special cells called lymphocytes.

  • A further rise in blood lymphocyte counts indicated rapid cell proliferation.

    Academic text (2000)
  • But I have SCID, which means I have way fewer lymphocytes than normal.

  • The primary endpoint of the study was the rate of decline in CD4 lymphocyte count.

    Academic text (1996)
  • On lumbar puncture, his CSF was clear, though it contained 28 lymphocytes/mL.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In every drop of blood there are special cells called lymphocytes that help the body fight infections.

Synonyms

lymph cell
vslymphocyte
  • Specialized
4.6

A small white blood cell that helps the body fight infection and often increases during illness

is the more common technical name used for the same immune cell

Compounds

B lymphocyte
  • Specialized
1 5.7

A white blood cell from bone marrow that makes antibodies to fight infection

T lymphocyte
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A white blood cell made in the thymus that fights infected or cancerous cells

How Mature

lymphocyte
  • Specialized
8 5.8
lymphoblast
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Surface Forms

lymphocyte singular
lymphocytes plural

Morphology

lymphocyte = lymph (semi-transparent) = lymph + cyte

Formed from 'lymph' + the technical combining suffix '-cyte' meaning 'cell'; the biological suffix is specialized so the exact immunological sense may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Lymphocyte comes from the parts lymph ('clear water') and -cyte ('cell'). Lymph is a clear body fluid, so a lymphocyte is a 'cell' that lives in that fluid and helps the body fight infection.