Biology of Man 485 



morphonuclear leucocytes (poll mor fo -nu' klear) (Gr. poly, many; 

 morphe, form; L. nucleus, kernel or nucleus). They act as phagocytes 

 (fag' o site) (Gr. phagein, to eat; kytos, cell) by engulfing bacteria, cells 

 fragments, and foreign materials. The granulocytes are classified in 

 three groups according to the type of granules in their cytoplasm : ( 1 ) 

 eosinophils (e o -sin' o fil) (Gr. eos, dawn; philein, to love), which stain 

 readily by eosin (acid) stains; (2) neutrophils (nu'trofil) (L. neuter, 

 neither; Gr. philein, to love), which stain by neutral dyes; (3) basophils 

 (ba' so fil) (Gr. basis, base; philein, to love), which stain well with basic 

 stains. 



The agranulocytes lack cytoplasmic granules and are classified in two 

 groups: (1) lymphocytes (lim'fosite) (L. lympha, lymph or water; Gr. 

 kytos, cell) and (2) monocytes (mon'osite) (Gr. monos, alone; kytos, 

 cell), both being formed in the lymphoid tissue. It is thought that 



Human Blood 



