Basophils
and Eva Rudolf-Müller, doctorDr. med. Andrea Reiter is a freelance writer for the medical editorial team.
More about the expertsEva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Basophils belong to the group of white blood cells (leukocytes). They are part of the body's immune system. In the case of certain allergic reactions such as asthma or hay fever, they are increasingly detectable in the blood. Read everything you need to know about blood cells and when to test them.
What are basophils?
Basophils are produced in the bone marrow and are part of the cellular immune system. This consists, among other things, of white blood cells, the leukocytes, which are differentiated according to their function. There are granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes. If you stain the granulocytes with a certain color and then look at them under the microscope, you can easily distinguish them from one another: They are divided into basophilic (dark purple colored), eosinophilic (reddish colored) and neutrophilic (light purple colored) granulocytes. These subgroups take on different tasks in the immune defense.
Basophil granulocytes, for example, are involved in the defense against parasites. But they can also trigger inflammatory and allergic reactions. Inside they carry messenger substances which, once released, can cause or intensify an allergic reaction. If the basophilic granulocytes migrate into the skin and release the messenger substance histamine there, they cause severe itching.
The percentage of basophilic granulocytes in the blood is low. In certain diseases, however, they are increasingly detectable.
When are basophils in the blood determined?
The proportion of basophilic granulocytes is determined in the so-called differential blood count if certain blood disorders or infections with parasites are suspected.
Basophils - normal values
The normal values for basophils are given in percent (proportion of total leukocyte count):
|
Female |
masculine | |
|
up to 14 days |
0,1 - 0,6 % |
0,1 - 0,8 % |
|
15 to 60 days |
0,0 - 0,5 % |
0,0 - 0,6 % |
|
61 days to 1 year |
0,0 - 0,6 % |
0,0 - 0,6 % |
|
2 to 5 years
|
0,0 - 0,6 % |
0,1 - 0,6 % |
|
6 to 17 years |
0,0 - 0,6 % |
0,0 - 0,7 % |
|
from 18 years |
0,1 - 1,2 % |
0,2 - 1,2 % |
When are there too few basophils in the blood?
Possible causes for a reduced number of basophils include:
- Chemicals (such as benzene)
- Medication
- Radiation (e.g. radiation therapy for cancer)
- stress
- some diseases such as hyperthyroidism, myelodysplastic syndrome
Note: If no or hardly any granulocytes can be detected in the blood, this is called agranulocytosis. Basophilic granulocytes are then also missing.
When are there too many basophils in the blood?
Frequently, when there is an infection in the blood, all forms of leukocytes are increasingly detectable in the blood. Only rarely does the number of basophilic granulocytes increase exclusively.
The proportion of basophils is increased, for example, in the following diseases:
- certain types of blood cancer (chronic myeloid leukemia, basophilic leukemia)
- Polycythemia (abnormal increase in red, but also white blood cells)
- rheumatism
- Ulcerative colitis
- Diabetes mellitus
- Parasites in the body
What to do if there are too many or too few basophils?
In addition to the blood cells, other values in the blood must also be determined in order to find the cause of an increased or decreased number of basophils. If necessary, an examination of the bone marrow follows. If a parasite infestation can be detected in the body, too many basophilic granulocytes can very often be found in the blood. The infection will then be treated appropriately.
