Question

What happens when the total number of WBC- White blood cells increases?

Answer 1

Hint: White blood cells (WBC) are also known as leukocytes. White blood cells are produced in the bone marrow known as hematopoietic stem cells. They are colourless due to the absence of haemoglobin in them. They are found in the blood and lymphatic system and help the body to fight infection thus protecting us from diseases.

Complete answer:
The increase in WBC acts as an indicator of infection in the body because white blood cells help the immune system by acting as a defense mechanism against infection by destroying foreign bodies.
The condition in which the number of white blood cells increases is known as leukocytosis. It typically occurs in response to the following situations like Infection Immunosuppression, A bone marrow or immune disorder, Certain cancers- such as acute or chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Inflammation, Injury, Emotional stress, Pregnancy, Allergic reactions, Excessive exercise, Certain respiratory illnesses, such as whooping cough or tuberculosis, may cause the level of white blood cells to increase.
In some cases, whole components of WBC increase while in certain cases only one or two components of WBC’s increase.
Some disorders which can be caused due to excessive increase in certain WBC components are – Neutrophilia and Eosinophilia which is caused due to increase of neutrophils and Eosinophil respectively.

Note:
White blood cells are categorized into granulocytes and agranulocytes. There are three different types of granulocytes- Neutrophil, eosinophil, and basophil and two different types of agranulocytes- Lymphocytes and monocytes. They generally have a shorter life span and are relatively lesser in number in comparison with RBC. An adult has an average of 6000-8000 WBC per mm³ of blood.