Defects of Neutrophil Function

Abstract

Discovery in medical science feeds on itself, and advances often come in clusters. This seems to be the case with new knowledge gained about the physiology of polymorphonuclear neutrophils — knowledge obtained not only from studies of normal cells but also from careful evaluation of defects in neutrophil function. In this issue of the Journal, Boxer and his colleagues describe studies of neutrophils obtained from a man with recurrent subcutaneous abscesses.¹ The cells studied had an almost complete deficiency of the population of granules termed specific, or secondary. This defect — in fact, the same patient — has been . . .