Large Granular Lymphocyte

Typically lymphocytes are small (10-12μm) cells with a scanty agranular cytoplasm with a round slightly indented nucleus. About 10% of lymphocytes are larger (12-16μ), have a nucleus which has a slight less compact chromatin and azurophilic granules in the cytoplasm. These are known as large granular lymphocytes. Some of these are T supressor lymphocytes (Cd3+ Cd8+) while others are NK cells (Cd3 – CD8+). The picture above shows a large granular lymphocyte.