What is Eosinophil granulocyte?
{{Infobox cell | Name = Eosinophil | Latin = | Image2 = Eosinophil blood smear.JPG | Caption2 = Eosinophil under the microscope (400x) from a peripheral [[Blood film|blood smear]]. [[Red blood cell]]s surround the eosinophil, two [[platelet]]s at the top left corner. | Image = Blausen 0352 Eosinophil (crop).png | Caption = 3D rendering of eosinophil | Precursor = | System = [[Immune system]] | Pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|ˌ|iː|əʊ|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|ə|f|ɪ|l}})<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/eosinophil|title=eosinophil - Definition of eosinophil in English by Oxford Dictionaries|author=|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171512/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/eosinophil|url-status=dead}}</ref> }} '''Eosinophil granulocytes''', usually called ''eosinophils'' or ''eosinophiles'', are [[granulocyte]] [[white blood cell]]s that fight off certain [[parasite]]s and [[infection]]s in [[vertebrate]]s. When they are activated, eosinophils release a [[cocktail]] of [[proteins]] from their granules, including [[heparin]]. Like [[mast cell]]s and [[basophil]]s, their main targets are [[parasites]], and they are part causes of the [[syndrome]]s called [[asthma]] and [[allergy]]. Eosinophils make up 1-6% of white blood cells circulating in the body. They are similar in size to [[neutrophil]]s but have reddish-orange [[granule]]s (when stained with [[eosin]]) and a bilobed nucleus. Eosinophil granulocytes are important defenders against large, [[Multicellular organism|multi-cellular]] parasites, such as worms and [[fluke]]s. Their numbers increase during a parasitic infection. ==References== {{reflist}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Blood cells]]