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Question 318
Physiology → Haematology
Classification
Question
SSBAOptions
Explanation
Younger neutrophils have an unlobed nucleus, while older neutrophils develop approximately two to five nuclear lobes.
Option Validity
B) Monocytes are separate agranular leucocytes with round, oval, horseshoe, bean-shaped or kidney-shaped nuclei. An unlobed neutrophil may simply represent a younger neutrophil.
C) Eosinophils characteristically have a bilobed spectacle-shaped nucleus and eosin-staining granules. Multilobulation is part of neutrophil maturation.
D) This reverses the relationship between age and nuclear morphology. Nuclear lobulation increases as neutrophils mature from younger unlobed forms.
E) Mature neutrophils are polymorphonuclear cells and may have approximately two to five nuclear lobes. Lobulation is therefore a normal feature.
Further Reading
Saxena. Textbook for MRCOG-1. Physiology - Haematology - Neutrophils, p.69.