Table of Contents
- Overview
- Prevention
A histiocyte is a type of immune cell that eats foreign substances in an effort to protect the body from infection.
Alternative Names
Macrophage
Information
Histiocytes do not travel through the blood. Instead, they remain in one part of the body.
Histiocytes are found in many organs and tissues, including the following:
- Brain
- Breast tissue
- Liver
- Lymph nodes
- Placenta
- Spleen
- Tonsils
An abnormal number of histiocytes leads to a disease called
Review Date: 05/16/2010
Reviewed By: David Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General
Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School
of Medicine; and Stuart I. Henochowicz, MD, FACP, Associate
Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology,
and Rheumatology, Georgetown University Medical School. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
