A tissue sample taken from a patient has an abnormally high percentage of white blood cells. What would most likely cause this?
1 Answer
An infection/ inflammation.
Explanation:
White blood cells (leukocytes) are part of our immune system and they protect us against infection by everything that shouldn't be in our body: viruses, parasites, bacteria, fungi... A large increase in white blood cells usually indicates that you have an infection and the white blood cells are trying to fight off these 'bad guys'.
A slight increase can be seen in allergic reactions . In this case your body overreacts to things it considers dangerous, but are in fact harmless. Such is the case with hay fever in which the white blood cells are attacking harmless pollen.
An increase in white blood cells is also seen in some types of cancer such as leukemia. In leukemia you will usually see a much larger increase compared to infections or allergic reactions.
