We just learned about the type of white blood cell called the Eosinophil.
Another type of white blood cell is the Basophil.
We've learned about 4 other types of white blood cells (WBC):
- lymphocytes - that help kill off bad diseases using T, B or NK cells.
- monocytes - that help fight off infections and clean up garbage in the body.
- neutrophils - most common WBC that is the first line of defense for fighting infections.
- eosinophils - that live in tissues and help fight off allergic responses
The Basophil is the 5th and last type of WBC.
This type of white blood cell is one of the things that makes your body react when it is allergic to something. So this could be swelling up or getting itchy spots on your body.
It does this by letting out something called "histamines".
The eosinophils puts out "antihistamines" so when your body is trying to calm down from being allergic to something, these antihistamines work against the histamines.
Basophils also let out a chemical called heparin, which keeps your blood a liquid.
When your blood dries up and turns to a clot it can cause problems, so the heparin makes sure it doesn't dry up.
(from: wikipedia - basophil)
Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rod Cells
