Phagocytosis

Abstract

Disorders of PhagocytosisThe many steps that must integrate to cause intraphagocytic killing of micro-organisms provide various points at which phagocytosis may err. Because of the "overkill" capacity of phagocytes and the multiple mechanism of host defense, not all errors of phagocytosis are of great clinical consequence. The assignment of clinical importance, however, is difficult, because susceptibility to pyogenic infection, the logical consequence of failure of phagocytosis, depends not only on the immunologic integrity of the host but also on exposure to and virulence of pathogens. Only rarely is a single phagocytic function impaired because of the overlapping physiologic mechanisms . . .