Phagocyte

A cell that engulfs and digests microbes, dead cells, or other particles through phagocytosis. Phagocytes help defend tissues and clear cellular debris.

Phagocytosis: A cellular process in which a cell engulfs large particles into membrane-bound compartments. This process is the defining way phagocytes take up microbes and debris.
Macrophage: A long-lived tissue phagocyte that clears debris, detects infection, and coordinates immune responses. Macrophages are prominent resident phagocytes in many tissues.
Antigen presentation: The display of peptide fragments on cell-surface molecules for recognition by T cells. Dendritic cells and macrophages can present antigens from material they ingest.
Natural killer cell: An innate lymphocyte that kills infected or abnormal cells without engulfing them. Natural killer cells destroy targets directly rather than acting as particle-engulfing phagocytes.
Phagosome: A membrane-bound compartment formed around material engulfed by a cell. Engulfed particles first enter this compartment inside a phagocyte.
Neutrophil: A short-lived granulocyte that rapidly enters infected tissues and kills microbes. Neutrophils are abundant circulating phagocytes recruited early during acute infection.
Efferocytosis: The engulfment and clearance of dying cells by phagocytes. This specialized clearance removes apoptotic cells while limiting tissue inflammation.
B cell: A lymphocyte that can produce antibodies and present antigens after activation. B cells are adaptive immune cells, not professional phagocytes.
Phagolysosome: A compartment formed when a phagosome fuses with a lysosome, enabling digestion of its contents. Fusion with lysosomes exposes engulfed material to digestive enzymes.
Dendritic cell: An antigen-presenting immune cell that links innate detection to activation of T cells. Many dendritic cells engulf material and present its antigens to T cells.

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