neutrophil

1. one of the three granular leukocytes having a nucleus with three to five lobes connected by threads of chromatin, and cytoplasm containing lysosomes that stain characteristically and enable neutrophils to be distinguished from basophils and eosinophils; called also a granulocyte or polymorphonuclear leukocyte. See also heterophil (1).
2. any cell, structure or histological element readily stainable with neutral dyes.

• band n. — see stab neutrophil (below).
• n. chemotactic factor — see chemotactic factor.
• hypersegmented n. — increased number of nuclear lobes; seen in hyperadrenocorticism or during treatment with corticosteroids, and in blood that has been in transit for long periods.
• hyposegmented n. — a lack of nuclear lobes; may occur in chronic infections and is a feature of pelger–huet anomaly.
• n.:lymphocyte ratio — correlates directly with the magnitude of the total leukocyte count in response to disease in domestic animals; it varies from 0.5 in cattle to 3.5 in dogs.
• stab n. — a neutrophilic leukocyte whose nucleus is not divided into segments.
• toxic n. — one with blue-black or large reddish cytoplasmic granules and diffuse cytoplasmic basophilia and vacuolation; caused by disruption of maturation.