Choose the odd one out from the following terms and name the category to which the others belong:
Neutrophils, Basophils, Monocytes, Eosinophils
Topic: Granulocytes
Answer
Odd one out: MONOCYTES. Category of the others: GRANULOCYTES (granular white blood cells).
All four are white blood cells, so again the division must be finer than "WBCs".
GRANULOCYTES — cells with granules in the cytoplasm and a lobed nucleus: NEUTROPHILS, BASOPHILS and EOSINOPHILS. Note that all three end in -PHIL. AGRANULOCYTES — no granules, with a large rounded nucleus: MONOCYTES and LYMPHOCYTES. Both end in -CYTE.
THE SHORTCUT: look at the word endings. Three of the four end in -PHIL and one in -CYTE. That alone identifies the odd term without recalling any biology.
The -phil ending refers to which stain each takes up: neutrophils take neutral dyes, eosinophils take the acidic dye eosin, and basophils take basic dyes.