Diagnosis of White Blood Cell Counts

While white blood cells, or leukocytes, only account for approximately 1% of the total number of cells found in blood, they are a critical part of the immune system, protecting the body from foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. White blood cells counts are often performed as part of a medical diagnosis to determine if the level of white blood cells in a patient’s blood is within or outside the normal range. In this activity students will perform white blood cell counts on five different patient samples and suggest possible diagnoses based on the white blood cell levels. The samples contain safe, non-biological simulated cells that do not require staining.