Scientists advance cutting edge of immunology through study of macrophages
Friday, October 5, 2012 - 09:30
in Health & Medicine
(Phys.org)—Macrophages are heavy hitters of the immune system. Their name literally means "to eat large objects." They are critical members of the body's defense team, such as in the lungs where they ingest invading microorganisms and at wound sites where they rush in and secrete coagulation factors that help form scabs. Macrophages also scavenge the body to find, digest, and recycle cell debris such as worn out red blood cells.