• Question: What are the smallest blood cells in the inmune system of our body

    Asked by Eric_ib to Sian, Max, Lizzie, Francis, Ben on 7 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Ben Mulhearn

      Ben Mulhearn answered on 7 Mar 2018:

      The very smallest cells are platelets, but many people don’t classify these as actual cells as they don’t have a nucleus and they are basically fragments of a larger cell.
      The smallest actual cells are probably the lymphocytes (B cells, T cells, natural killer cells). Even though they are the smallest they are vitally important for life!

    • Photo: Francis Man

      Francis Man answered on 7 Mar 2018:

      To add to Ben’s answer, I consider platelets to be cells, even though they don’t have a nucleus. In may ways they behave like immune cells, and the way you work with them in research is very similar to working with other immune cells. They’re a really important part of the immune system.

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