{"id":222068,"date":"2025-05-31T03:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T03:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/?p=222068"},"modified":"2025-05-31T03:17:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T03:17:15","slug":"which-of-the-following-describes-a-neutrophil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/31\/which-of-the-following-describes-a-neutrophil\/","title":{"rendered":"Which of the following describes a neutrophil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Which of the following describes a neutrophil?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. ?abundant, agranular, especially effective against cancer cells<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. ?abundant, granular, especially effective against bacteria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. ?rare, agranular, releases antimicrobial defensins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d. ?rare, granular, contains multiple granules packed with histamine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct Answer:<\/strong>
b. abundant, granular, especially effective against bacteria<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Explanation (Approx. 300 words):<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells (WBCs) in the human body, making up approximately 50\u201370% of all circulating leukocytes. As granulocytes<\/strong>, they contain numerous cytoplasmic granules filled with enzymes and antimicrobial substances, which are critical to their role in the innate immune response<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neutrophils are especially effective against bacteria<\/strong>, which makes them a first line of defense during bacterial infections. They are typically the first immune cells to arrive at the site of infection or injury. Neutrophils identify and engulf pathogens via phagocytosis<\/strong>, then destroy them using reactive oxygen species and enzymes like lysozyme<\/strong>, myeloperoxidase<\/strong>, and defensins<\/strong> released from their granules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to phagocytosis, neutrophils can release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)<\/strong>\u2014web-like structures composed of DNA and proteins\u2014that trap and kill microbes extracellularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neutrophils are short-lived (about 6\u20138 hours in the bloodstream) but produced in vast numbers daily in the bone marrow. Their elevated count in blood, known as neutrophilia<\/strong>, typically indicates a bacterial infection or inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s briefly evaluate the other choices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • a. abundant, agranular, especially effective against cancer cells<\/strong>: Incorrect. While abundant might apply, neutrophils are granular<\/strong>, not agranular, and their primary role is fighting bacteria<\/strong>, not specifically cancer cells.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • c. rare, agranular, releases antimicrobial defensins<\/strong>: Incorrect. Neutrophils are not rare<\/strong> and do<\/strong> release defensins, but they are granular.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • d. rare, granular, contains multiple granules packed with histamine<\/strong>: Incorrect. This describes basophils<\/strong>, which are involved in allergic reactions and inflammation, not neutrophils.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In conclusion, option b<\/strong> correctly identifies neutrophils as abundant<\/strong>, granular<\/strong>, and especially effective against bacteria<\/strong>, reflecting their essential function in immune defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Which of the following describes a neutrophil? a. ?abundant, agranular, especially effective against cancer cells b. ?abundant, granular, especially effective against bacteria c. ?rare, agranular, releases antimicrobial defensins d. ?rare, granular, contains multiple granules packed with histamine . The Correct Answer and Explanation is: Correct Answer:b. abundant, granular, especially effective against bacteria Explanation (Approx. 300 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}