Normal Lymphoctes

Lymphocytes are the main functional cells of the immune system. There are about 1.5-4.0 x 10^9 lymphocytes per liter of blood in a healthy individual. Lymphocytes can be recognized histologically as cells with large, dense nuclei, and clear, pale blue cytoplasm (under Romanovsky stains). Large (yellow arrow) and small (green arrow) lymphocytes differ in their amount of cytoplasm. T-lymphocytes (helper, killer, and suppressor) are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. B-lymphocytes are involved in antibody production. B- and T- lymphocytes can not be distinguished morphologically, but they have distinctive surface proteins that allow them to be identified using immunocytochemistry. B-lymphocytes also differentiate into plasma cells , which have quite characteristic morphology.

For information on lymphocyte development click here.

Click here to see Plasma Cells

This page is always under construction.

If you need more information, the best place on the internet to search is usually the National Library of Medicine.

by Robert McLay