Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Leukopenia
Leukopenia or leukocytopenia is the decreased presence of white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood. As the function of white cells is to combat infection, decreased numbers of these cells put someone at risk for infection. In pancytopenia , other cell types in the blood (red blood cells and/or platelets) are also affected.
Neutropenia is the absence of neutrophil granulocytes, the most abundant white blood cells. The terms are often used interchangeably, as the neutrophil count is the most important indicator of infection risk.
Low white cell counts are associated with chemotherapy, leukemia (as malignant cells overwhelm the bone marrow), myelofibrosis and aplastic anemia (destruction of the bone marrow by the immune system).
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details