What is "basophil"

n. (context cytology English) Any cell that has granules stained by basic stains; but especially granular leukocytes.

n. a leukocyte with basophilic granules easily stained by basic stains [syn: basophile]

A basophil is a type of white blood cell. Basophils are the least common of the granulocytes, representing about 0.5 to 1% of circulating white blood cells. However, they are the largest type of granulocyte. They are responsible for inflammatory reactions during immune response, as well as in the formation of acute and chronic allergic diseases, including anaphylaxis, asthma, atopic dermatitis and hay fever. They can perform phagocytosis (cell eating), produce histamine and serotonin that induce inflammation, and heparin that prevents blood clotting.

Basophils were discovered in 1879 by a German physician Paul Ehrlich, who one year earlier had found a cell type present in tissues that he termed mastzellen (now mast cells). Ehrlich received the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries.

The name comes from the fact that these leukocytes are basophilic, i.e., they are susceptible to staining by basic dyes, as shown in the picture.