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Micro World

How small is a human T lymphocyte?

A human T lymphocyte is about 7 µm across.

What is measured: circulating immune cell, diameter

Human T Lymphocyte (7 µm) drawn to scale beside an E. coli bacterium (2 µm) and a red blood cell (7.5 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: E. coli bacterium (2 µm), Human T Lymphocyte (7 µm) and Red blood cell (7.5 µm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About the same width as a red blood cell
  • About 2 would fit across a cloud droplet
  • About 10 would fit across a human hair
  • About 3.5× the length of an E. coli bacterium
  • About 70× as wide as a flu virus

Learn

Facts about Human T Lymphocyte

T lymphocytes mature in the thymus and coordinate the adaptive immune response against infected or abnormal cells.

Source: Alberts, Molecular Biology of the Cell; Kuby Immunology

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Human T Lymphocyte
Cryptosporidium parvum Oocyst5 µm0.71×
Chlorella Algae Cell5 µm0.71×
Candida albicans5 µm0.71×
Halobacterium salinarum5 µm0.71×
Thermus aquaticus5 µm0.71×
Human T Lymphocyte7 µmthis page
Human B Lymphocyte7 µmsame size
Cryptococcus neoformans8 µm1.1×
Human Melanocyte8 µm1.1×
Human Natural Killer Cell10 µm1.4×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Human T Lymphocyte or Cryptosporidium parvum Oocyst?

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