A band cell (also called band neutrophil, band form or stab cell) is a cell undergoing

granulopoiesis Granulopoiesis (or granulocytopoiesis) is a part of haematopoiesis, that leads to the production of granulocytes. A granulocyte, also referred to as a polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN), is a type of white blood cell that has multi lobed nuclei, u ...

, derived from a metamyelocyte, and leading to a mature

granulocyte Granulocytes are cells in the innate immune system characterized by the presence of specific granules in their cytoplasm. Such granules distinguish them from the various agranulocytes. All myeloblastic granulocytes are polymorphonuclear. They ha ...

. It is characterized by having a curved but not lobular

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: * Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

. The term "band cell" implies a granulocytic lineage (e.g., neutrophils).

Clinical significance

Band neutrophils are an intermediary step prior to the complete maturation of segmented neutrophils. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils are initially released from the bone marrow as band cells, as the immature neutrophils become activated or exposed to pathogens, their nucleus will take on a segmented appearance. An increase in the number of these immature neutrophils in circulation can be indicative of a infection for which they are being called to fight against, or some inflammatory process. The increase of band cells in the circulation is called bandemia and is a "left shift" process.

Blood reference ranges Reference ranges (reference intervals) for blood tests are sets of values used by a health professional to interpret a set of medical test results from blood samples. Reference ranges for blood tests are studied within the field of clinical chemis ...

for neutrophilic band cells in adults are 3 to 5% of

white blood cell White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mult ...

s,Last page of or up to 0.7 x10⁹/L.Clinical Laboratory Medicine. By Kenneth D. McClatchey. Page 807.
/ref> An excess may sometimes be referred to as

bandemia Bandemia refers to an excess or increased levels of band cells (immature white blood cells) released by the bone marrow into the blood. It thus overlaps with the concept of left shift—bandemia is a principal type of left shift and many (perha ...

Additional images

File:Band neutrophil.JPG, Band neutrophil in peripheral

blood film A blood smear, peripheral blood smear or blood film is a thin layer of blood smeared on a glass microscope slide and then stained in such a way as to allow the various blood cells to be examined microscopically. Blood smears are examined in the ...

File:Hematopoiesis (human) diagram en.svg, Hematopoiesis

References

External links

* - "Bone Marrow and Hemopoiesis: bone marrow smear, neutrophil series" * *
Histology at okstate.edu

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070311085356/http://usuarios.lycos.es/biologiacelular/Medula%20osea%20hemopoiesis18.htm Interactive diagram at lycos.es Histology {{developmental-biology-stub

Clinical significance

See also

Additional images

References

External links