We are on week 5 of the Live Blood Online Training Course and looking at white blood cells
White blood cell (WBC) viability is one of the most important assessments used to determine the state of the immune system.
White blood cell explanation; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gf4Kq1Bgbc
The main criteria used for determining the viability of a neutrophil (the most common WBC) include size, condition and activity.
A neutrophil should be approximately twice as big as a red blood cell (RBC), approximately 14 microns in diameter. The main determinants in assessing the condition of a neutrophil are the condition of the cell’s border and segmentation. The border should be fairly smooth and regular and the neutrophil should not be hypersegmented (too many lobes) nor macrocytic (enlarged).
The most important factor to observe when assessing neutrophil viability is activity.
Here we look at the granules within the cell’s cytoplasm. Ideally, there should be many of them actively streaming within the cell.
The cell itself should also be stretching out its membrane in irregular shapes to move around actively in the plasma.
Non-viable neutrophils are often round, symmetrical and immobile.
Implications:
Poor neutrophil viability may be caused by many factors – please join the Live Blood Online Training Course to find out more https://livebloodonline.com/the-training-course/course-content/