Histiocyte
A type of white blood cell, also called a macrophage, that is created by the bone marrow. They usually stay in place, but when histiocytes are stimulated by infection or inflammation they become active, attacking bacteria and other foreign matter in the body.
See also histiocytosis.
Read Also:
- Histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis
A disorder, also called Kikuchi disease, that typically causes “swollen glands” in the neck (cervical lymphadeniopathy) together with fever or flu-like symptoms. Laboratory test abnormalities include elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood count abnormalities (low neutrophil count and elevated lymphocyte count with atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood). Kikuchi disease rare. Also called […]
- Histiocytosis
One of several disorders in which histiocytes start to multiply and proliferate abnormally. The result can be tissue damage, pain, the development of tumor-like lumps, fatigue, and other symptoms. If histiocytosis affects the pituitary gland, diabetes insipidus may also develop. Treatment includes radiation and chemotherapy, although for reasons unknown, some cases of histiocytosis go into […]
- Histiocytosis X
Now called Langerhans cell histiocytosis. This disease is subclassified into eosinophilic granuloma, Letterer Siwe disease, and Hand-Schuller-Christian disease.
- Histiocytosis, Hand-Schuller-Christian
A disease in which histiocytes start to multiply and attack the tissues or organs of the patient. The disease usually affects children age 2 to 5, less often older children and adults. The most frequent sites of bony involvement are the flat bones of the skull, ribs, pelvis, and scapula (wing bone). Chronic otitis media […]
- Histiocytosis, Letterer Siwe
A severe disease in which histiocytes start to multiply and attack the tissues or organs of the patient starting in infancy with a scaly, sometimes itchy rash on the scalp, ears, abdomen, and creases of the neck and face. Raw skin may provide a portal of entry for germs, leading to sepsis (bloodstream infection). There […]