Monocytosis

Monocytosis, an increased content of monocytes in the blood. In normal blood, monocytes make up 4-8% of all white blood cells; in pathological cases, the number of monocytes is subject to significant fluctuations independently of fluctuations in the number of lymphocytes and granulocytes. An increase in the number of monocytes is significantly expressed in smallpox, typhus, often in measles during the rash stage, and ulcerative endocarditis (especially in endocarditis lenta). Monocytosis is less pronounced in acute tubercular and syphilitic processes, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and suppurative processes. In acute infectious diseases, monocytosis is observed most often during the crisis period; in more protracted, less virulent infections, monocytosis is often prolonged (Timofeyevsky). Monocytosis is also accompanied by protozoan diseases, especially malaria and kala-azar outside of fever attacks, Banti's disease, arteriosclerosis, weakly expressed forms of Basedow's disease, and helminthic diseases. Recently, cases of monocytic leukemia (Schilling, Fleischmann, Hirschfeld) and "monocytic" angina with 56-68% monocytes have been described. A decrease in the number of monocytes, and sometimes their complete "absence," can be observed in severe septic diseases, where this has a poor prognostic significance, and then in leukemias and pernicious anemia. For literature, see the literature to the articles Hematology and Blood.