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Latin macrophagocytus mobilis
Code TH H2.

A histiocyte is an animal cell that is part of the mononuclear phagocyte system (also known as the reticuloendothelial system or lymphoreticular system). The mononuclear phagocytic system is part of the organism's immune system. The histiocyte is a tissue macrophage[1][2] or a dendritic cell[3] (histio, diminutive of histo, meaning tissue, and cyte, meaning cell).



However, the term histiocyte has been used for multiple purposes in the past, and some cells called "histocytes" do not appear to derive from monocytic-macrophage lines.[4] (The term Histiocyte can also simply refer to a cell from monocyte origin outside the blood system, such as in a tissue (as in rheumatoid arthritis as palisading histiocytes surrounding fibrinoid necrosis of rheumatoid nodules).

Some sources consider Langerhans cell derivatives to be histiocytes.[5] The Langerhans cell histiocytosis embeds this interpretation into its name.

Morphology and diversity[edit]


Macrophages and dendritic cells[edit]

These histiocytes are part of the immune system by way of two distinct functions: phagocytosis and antigen presentation. Phagocytosis is the main process of macrophages and antigen presentation the main property of dendritic cells (so called because of their star-like cytoplasmic processes).



Langerhans cells[edit]



Histiocytoses describe neoplasias wherein the proliferative cell is the histiocyte.

The most common histiocyte disorders are Langerhans' cell histiocytosis and haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.[6]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ histiocyte at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
  2. ^ WordNet Search - 3.0
  3. ^ Trends Immunol. 2010 Dec;31(12):438-45. Epub 2010 Oct 27. Development and homeostasis of 'resident' myeloid cells: the case of the Langerhans cell. Chorro L, Geissmann F.
  4. ^ "S12C3-Granuloma". Retrieved 2009-01-06. 
  5. ^ Cline M (1994). "Histiocytes and histiocytosis". Blood 84 (9): 2840–53. PMID 7524755. 
  6. ^ Webb DK (October 1996). "Histiocyte disorders". Br. Med. Bull. 52 (4): 818–25. PMID 9039734.