Basophils are very similar to Neutrophil Granulocytes, except that they have human skin and don't wear police hats. They are also female and have medium-long, "big hair" hairstyles, seen as blonde and brown.
Basophils are armed with histamine grenades stored in their hand baskets. They are black cylinders with white bases and black center buttons. When thrown on ground, they explode in green smoke as seen in The Body Sentinels. However, in The Skinthe grenades neutralized the green clouds of Antigens.
The purpose of a Basophil is to detect and destroy Antigens that can cause unwanted effects on human body. When registered, Basophils use their histamine grenades, throwing them at the intruder. The grenades explode, resulting in an inflammatory response; this was foreshadowed in The Body Sentinels when Captain Peter explained their role, and fully shown in The Skin after Peter had gotten bit by a mosquito and Antigens entered the punctured blood vessel. The inflammatory response results in an allergic reaction,
Basophils are a type of white blood cells, which are the least common of the granulocytes (representing about 0.5 to 1% of circulating white blood cells). However, they are the largest type of granulocyte.
Asides from producing histamine (which is their only capability in the show), they can perform phagocytosis (cell eating), produce serotonin that induces inflammation (just like histamine), and heparin that prevents blood clotting.
The word basophil uses combining forms of baso- + -phil, yielding "base-loving".
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