Phagocyte

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/phagocyte

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Phagocyte?1882
2. What is the discoverer?Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov
3. What is the primary function?Engulfing and digesting foreign particles, pathogens, and cellular debris (phagocytosis)
4. How do phagocytes find and eat germs?Phagocytes are attracted to germs by chemical signals, then use special receptors to grab the germs, wrap them in a bubble called a phagosome, and break them up inside a special part called a lysosome.
5. Why are phagocytes called professional and non‑professional?Professional phagocytes, like neutrophils and macrophages, have special receptors that quickly recognize germs, while non‑professional ones are less efficient at this task.

Phagosome: A membrane-bound vesicle formed when a cell engulfs a particle.
Lysosome: An organelle containing digestive enzymes that fuses with phagosomes.
Antigen: A molecule, typically on the surface of a pathogen, that triggers an immune response.
MHC Molecules: Proteins on cell surfaces that display antigens to T cells.