WBC and Platelets

OVERVIEW
White blood cells:
◦ Characteristics, functions, formation
Platelets :
◦ Characteristics & functions, formation

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Leukocytes (WBC)
Mobile unit of body’s defense system
◦ Formed in the bone marrow
 Granulocytes, monocytes, few lymphocytes
◦ Lymph tissue
 Lymphocytes &plasma cells
After formation
◦ Transported in blood
 Different parts of the body where they are to be
used

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Characteristics of Leukocytes
Types
◦ Polymorpho nuclear neutrophils
◦ Polymorpho nuclear eosinophils
◦ Polymorpho nuclear basophils
◦ Monocytes
◦ Lymphocytes & plasma cells
◦ platelets

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Characteristics of Leukocytes
Characteristics
Polymorpho nuclear cells
◦ Have abundant membrane bound intracellular
granules
 Hence (granulocytes)
◦ Also they have multilobed nucleus
 Polymorphs

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Characteristics of Leukocytes
Granules of one group
◦ Take up red dye eosin
 Polymorpho nuclear eosinophils
 eosinophils
Granules of the second group

◦ Take up blue dye “basic dye ”

 Polymorpho nuclear basophils
 Basophils
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Characteristics of Leukocytes
Granules of third group
◦ Have little affinity for either dye
 Polymorphonuclear neutrophils
 Neutrophils
Monocytes, lymphocytes(plasma cells) &
platelets
◦ Have no granule in their cytoplasm
 Agranulocytes

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Number & Distribution
Adults have about 4,000 – 11,000 wbc/L
of blood
Normal % of different types
◦ Neutrophils 50 – 70%
◦ Eosinophils 1 – 4%
◦ Basophils 0.1 – 0.4%
◦ Monocytes 2 – 8%
◦ Lymphocytes 20 – 40%
Total platelets 250,000 – 300,000/ L of
blood
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Genesis of Blood Cells
Erythrocytes

CFU -E Granulocytes
CFU-B
Monocytes
PHSC CFU -Spl

CFU-GM Macrophages
Megakaryocytes

Platelets
CFU-M
PHSC T - Lymphocytes
Lymphoid
B - Lymphocytes
stem cell
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Genesis of WBC
Like
the RBCs the WBC originate from the
PHSC in bone marrow
◦ It differentiates to form
 Myelocyte stem cell
 CFU-GM
 Granulocytes (N, E, B)
 Monocytes
 CFU-M (megakryocyte)
 Platelets
 Lymphoid stem cell
 T-lymphocyte
 B-lymphocyte

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 Myeloblast

Pro-Myeloblast

Neutrophil Eosinophil Basophil Megakaryocyte

myelocyte myelocyte myelocyte

Neutrophil Eosinophil Basophil monocyte

Platelets

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WBC Lifespan
Granulocytes once released from blood
◦ Have a lifespan of
 About 4 - 8 hrs and another
 4 – 5 days in tissues
 Lifespan is greatly reduced in severe
infection

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WBC Lifespan
Monocytes
◦ Short transit time in blood
 10 – 20 hrs
◦ Once in tissues
 Swell to large size – macrophages
 In this form they can live for several
months to yrs

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WBC Lifespan
Lymphocytes
◦ Enter the circulatory system continually
 After few hrs in circulation
 They pass back in tissue
 Have a lifespan of
 Weeks, months or even years
 Depends on the body needs

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 Plateletes

 Platelets (thrombocytes) are one of the blood

cells
 Disc-shaped, 2 - 4 micron cell fragment with no
nucleus
 Normal platelet count is
150,000-400,000/microlitre of blood

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Plateletes
Platelets formation;
Platelets formed in bone marrow by following steps:
Thrombopoietin stimulates myeloid stem cells to produce
platelets.
Myeloid stem cells develop into megakaryocyte-colony-
forming cells that develop into megakaryoblasts .
Megakaryoblasts transform into megakaryocytes which
fragment.
Each fragment, enclosed by a piece of cell membrane, is a
platelet (thrombocyte).
Normal blood contains 150,000 to 400,000 platelets/mm3.
Platelets have a life span of only 5 to 10 days; aged and dead
platelets are removed by fixed macrophages in the spleen and
liver.

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Plateletes
Plateletshelp stop blood loss from
damaged vessels by forming a platelet
plug.
Their granules also contain chemicals that
promote blood clotting.

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THANK YOU

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