From time to time, we all come across obscure medical concepts. And since everyone passes a complete blood count , the question always arises of what are monocytes, how many of them should be contained in the blood, and what does the obtained value mean if the monocytes in the blood are elevated?
Monocytes are large blood cells belonging to the class of leukocytes. By structure - oval cells with a large nucleus and the absence of grains in the cytoplasm (agranulocytes), which respond to inflammatory processes in the body by increasing their content in the blood. The condition when monocytes in the blood are elevated is called monocytosis.
These cells are formed in the bone marrow from monoblasts, while they divide by meiosis, and after a few days migrate from blood to tissues, and there they participate in phagocytosis at the cellular level. More often this process is observed in response to infection, when monocytes, already becoming macrophages, are connected to maintain immunity and block foreign proteins, forming an antigen-antibody combination. In the process of phagocytosis, monocytes do not die, as is often the case with eosinophils and neutrophils, but form a shaft that limits the site of inflammation. A characteristic feature is the similar behavior of these cells in an acidic environment.
The monocyte contains a large number of lysosomes, which digest the objects phagocytosed by the cell, cleansing the lesion site and preparing it for regeneration. Monocytes are mainly found in the blood, are present in large numbers in the spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow, so trauma to one of them will reduce monocytes. Monocytosis is pronounced in malignant neoplasms, infectious diseases (syphilis, tuberculosis), systemic diseases (lupus erythematosus, blood diseases), collagenoses, granulomatosis.
The content of these mononuclear leukocytes in normal peripheral blood is not more than 0.03 - 1.00 × 109 / l, and their total number should not exceed 8-10% of the total number of leukocytes. If the monocytes are above normal, this is an occasion to undergo an additional examination to identify the focus of infection and appropriate medication. Monocytes have a cytotoxic effect (they have a detrimental effect on tumor cells, as well as in diseases such as malaria), produce active substances (interferon), and are involved in the recognition of foreign agents.
Even if blood monocytes are elevated, it is impossible to correctly describe the prognostic picture of the inflammatory process, based solely on their quantitative indicator. To do this, it is worth evaluating the general leukocyte blood count: if there are a lot of monocytes, with an increase in the number of lymphocytes and the same ratio of eosinophils, but the content of T-lymphocytes is somewhat reduced, then this can be regarded as a reason for a favorable outcome of the pathological condition. In contrast to the state when monocytes in the blood are increased, as well as the number of neutrophils with a shift of the leukocyte formula to the left, and a simultaneous decrease in the number of eosinophils and T-lymphocytes is observed.
If there is a sharp decrease in the number of monocytes in the blood, then we are talking about a condition such as monopenia (monocytopenia). Such a blood picture is observed in bone marrow lesions, when the hemapoiesis process is disrupted, with generalized purulent infections, blood diseases, hormonal drugs, stress and shock situations, childbirth and surgical interventions, as well as injuries to organs where monocytes are based. If the number of monocytes in the peripheral blood deviates, a second blood test should be performed. Based on this, appropriate comprehensive treatment of the underlying disease will be prescribed. Since monocytes respond to the presence of infection in the body, it can be confidently stated that the main focus will be antibiotic therapy plus symptomatic treatment.