Description:

Segmented neutrophilic granulocyte is a mature cell, round or oval shape.

Size:

10-12 µm.

Cytoplasm:

Pink and contains many small stains, pink-brown or light-tan granules, distributed evenly throughout the cell, although they may not be apparent when they lie over the nucleus. The layer of the cytoplasm around the nucleus is abundant. The nucleocytoplasmatic ratio is 3:1 in favor of the cytoplasm.

Nucleus:

Lobulated, with two to five lobes connected by a thin chromatin thread. The chromatin stains purple and is coarse and arranged in clumps.
The nucleus of 1-16 % of neutrophils in females may have a drumstick-shaped appendage attached to one lobe by a chromatin strand.      

Nucleoli:

Absent.

Description:

Round or oval cells that are, on average, slightly larger than the mature neutrophils.

Size:

10-12 µm.

Cytoplasm:

Pink and filled with globular eosinophilic granules. The granules are relatively large and are more uniform in size (about 1 µm in diameter), round, sharply demarcated with well-defined borders, and stained red to bright orange.
The eosinophilic granules contain phospholipids as well as a basic protein that is responsible for their staining characteristics. It does not contain alkaline phosphatase.

Nucleus:

Usually bi-lobed and the large cytoplasmic granules do not overlap it as a general rule.

Nucleoli:

No nucleoli.

Description:

The mature basophilic leukocyte is a round or oval cell. Basophils are smaller then neutrophils and eosinophils.      

Size:

10-12 µm.

Cytoplasm:

Rose- or lavender-colored or sometimes does not stain. The cells are characterized by the presence of large, round, deeply stained blue to black unevenly distributed granules that may overlap and obscure the nucleus. These granules contain histamine and heparin, and are soluble in water.

Nucleus:

Round, kidney-shaped or uneven, with a larger number of notches, and occupies the major part of the cell. The nucleus is segmented into different lobes connected by chromatin filaments (often in clover form).

Nucleoli:

Absent.