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In medicine, granulocytosis is the presence of an increased number of granulocytes in the peripheral blood.Often, the word refers to an increased neutrophil granulocyte count (neutrophilia), but granulocytosis formally refers to the combination of neutrophilia, eosinophilia, and basophilia. [1]
Granulocytopenia is an abnormally low concentration of granulocytes in the blood. This condition reduces the body's resistance to many infections. Closely related terms include agranulocytosis (etymologically, "no granulocytes at all"; clinically, granulocyte levels less than 5% of normal) and neutropenia (deficiency of neutrophil granulocytes).
Toxic vacuolation is associated with sepsis, particularly when accompanied by toxic granulation. [4] The finding is also associated with bacterial infection, [3] alcohol toxicity, liver failure, [4] and treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, a cytokine drug used to increase the absolute neutrophil count in patients with neutropenia.
Along with Döhle bodies and toxic vacuolation, which are two other findings in the cytoplasm of granulocytes, toxic granulation is a peripheral blood film finding suggestive of an inflammatory process. [1] Toxic granulation is often found in patients with bacterial infection and sepsis, [1] [2] although the finding is nonspecific. [3]
Steady state granulopoiesis is a term used to describe the normal daily production of granulocytes. Granulocytes are short lived cells (their lifespan is between 6 and 8 hours) with a high cell turnover. The number of granulocytes produced every day is between 5 and 10 x 10 10. [13] The master regulator of steady state granulopoiesis is C/EBPα.
The term "agranulocytosis" derives from the Greek: a, meaning without; granulocyte, a particular kind of white blood cell (containing granules in its cytoplasm); and osis, meaning condition [esp. disorder]. Consequently, agranulocytosis is sometimes described as "no granulocytes", but a total absence is not required for diagnosis.
Neutrophils are the primary white blood cells that respond to a bacterial infection, so the most common cause of neutrophilia is a bacterial infection, especially pyogenic infections. [2] Neutrophils are also increased in any acute inflammation, so will be raised after a heart attack, [2] other infarct or burns. [2]
Neutrophil hypersegmentation is one of the earliest, most sensitive and specific signs of megaloblastic anemia (mainly caused by hypovitaminosis of vitamin B12 & folic acid).