Is there a specific medical term for the process by which your body responds to infection by creating and dispatching many white blood cells to go get the invaders?
Immune response?
mmm
Right, but like, is there an even more specific term (specifically about the white blood cells only)? Or is that already it
There are many answers, depending on what step you’re referring to.
Immune response is good for describing any response to something the immune system recognizes as needing a response to (an antigen). (When an antigen isn’t really a pathogen it’s called an allergy or autoimmune).
Clonal expansion is the term for the amplification of specific B cells that are responding to the antigen to make antibodies.
T cell activation is when T cells respond to antigen and become able to destroy pathogens and regulate B cells.
Primary response happens the first time your immune system sees the particular antigen/pathogen
Secondary response is when memory cells see an antigen/pathogen they fought before (or were vaccinated against) and ramp up the response even quicker.
ETA: white blood cells are both B cells (which secrete antibodies, which kill pathogens indirectly, “long rage missiles”) and T cells (kills pathogens more directly, “hand to hand combat”, and coordinates B and T cell response)
From my infectious disease & immunology classes (oh, so long ago)…
Leukocytosis?
Inflammation is something that happens when the body fights infection, but it’s not the mobilization of white blood cells, per se, but can result in white bloods proliferating as a consequence.
The type of white blood cell known as a neutrophil is recruited into the bloodstream to fight infection by the process of demargination. This is different than release of neutrophils (released immaturely during an infection) from the bone marrow which has huge reserves and can ramp up production dramatically.
Demargination refers to mature neutrophils that had been residing in the walls of blood vessels waiting for the signal to leap into action. Unlike another type of white cell called a lymphocyte which attacks only extremely specific targets, neutrophils, whether demarginated or from the marrow, are non-specific fighters forming the first line of defence.
As with pretty much everything involving the immune system(s), the control and precise mechanisms of demargination of neutrophils from the blood vessels into the circulation is not fully understood. That said, it is known that stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline can unleash the demargination process. Interestingly, but maybe not too surprisingly, people who have a heart attack, a seizure, trauma, diabetic coma, and many more serious acute ‘stresses’ will predictably have a high neutrophil count in their blood for some time after the stress.
Somewhat related to the topic, it’s a recent article about new research, pain receptors trigger immune response also:
There is also the activation process for macrophages.
An emphasized repeat of the quote I included:
A definition:
Demargination may be the word I needed, thanks 