Elevated monocytes - Definition
Definition
Monocytes are large, white blood cells, whose function is to destroy certain types of viruses and bacteria to protect the body against the development of infection. Elevated monocytes, also referred to as "monocytosis", indicates that monocytes are being produced to fight infectious disease. Elevated monocytes are generally transient in the context of acute infections such as infectious mononucleosis, but can also be sustained in a number of chronic diseases such as cancers, inflammatory diseases, and in forms of leukemia, bone disease where the cells it manufactures proliferate.