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Globulin: a protein in the blood. Blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and a liquid called plasma. Plasma is made of serum and clotting proteins. Serum proteins include albumin (the main protein) and globulins. Globulins are roughly divided into alpha, beta, and gamma globulins. These can be separated and measured in a laboratory by techniques called electrophoresis and densitometry.
(www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003544.htm)
Hemoglobin: a protein that is carried by red cells. It picks up oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to the peripheral tissues to maintain the viability of cells. Hemoglobin is made from two similar proteins that "stick together". Both proteins must be present for the hemoglobin to pick up and release oxygen normally. One of the component proteins is called alpha, the other is beta. Before birth, the beta protein is not expressed. A hemoglobin protein found only during fetal development, called gamma, substitutes up until birth.
(http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/hemoglobin.html)
Lymphocytes: a small white blood cell (leukocyte) that plays a large role in defending the body against disease. Lymphocytes are responsible for immune responses. There are two main types of lymphocytes: B cells and T cells. The B cells make antibodies that attack bacteria and toxins while the T cells attack body cells themselves when they have been taken over by viruses or have become cancerous. Lymphocytes secrete products (lymphokines) that modulate the functional activities of many other types of cells and are often present at sites of chronic inflammation.
(www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4220)
T-cells: white cells that are processed in the thymus. They contribute to the immune defenses in two major ways. Regulatory T cells are vital to orchestrating the elaborate system. (B cells, for instance, cannot make antibody against most substances without T cell help). Cytotoxic T cells, on the other hand, directly attack body cells that are infected or malignant. Chief among the regulatory T cells are "helper/inducer" cells. Typically identifiable by the T4 cell marker, helper T cells are essential for activating B cells and other T cells as well as natural killer cells and macrophages. Another subset of T cells acts to turn off or "suppress" these cells. Cytotoxic T cells, which usually carry the T8 marker, are killer cells. In addition to ridding the body of cells that have been infected by viruses or transformed by cancer, they are responsible for the rejection of tissue and organ grafts. (Although suppressor/ cytotoxic T cells are often called T8 cells, in reality the two are not always synonymous. The T8 molecule, like the T4 molecule, determines which MHC molecule-class I or class II-the T cell will recognize, but not how the T cell will behave.) T cells work primarily by secreting substances known as cytokines or, more specifically, lymphokines. Lymphokines (which are also secreted by B cells) and their relatives, the monokines produced by monocytes and macrophages, are diverse and potent chemical messengers. Binding to specific receptors on target cells, lymphokines call into play many other cells and substances, including the elements of the inflammatory response. They encourage cell growth, promote cell activation, direct cellular traffic, destroy target cells, and incite macrophages. A single cytokine may have many functions; conversely, several different cytokines may be able to produce the same effect.
(www.immunecentral.com/immune-system/iss8.cfm)
White Blood Cells: cells in the blood that are involved in defending the body against infective organisms and foreign substances. Like all blood cells, they are produced in the bone marrow. the principal components of the immune systemand function by destroying "foreign" substances such as bacteria and viruses. When an infection is present, the production of WBCs increases. If the number of leukocytes is abnormally low (a condition known as leukopenia), infection is more likely to occur and it is more difficult for the body to get rid of the infection.
(www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/wbc.html)
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