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Definition

noun, plural: T cells

A type of white blood cell that functions in cell-mediated immunity, and is distinguished from other types of lymphocytes by the presence of special receptor (T cell receptor) on the cell surface.

Supplement

The T in T cell stands for thymus. The thymus is the bodily organ where T cells mature.

The different types of T cells are:

• helper T cell
• natural killer T cell
• suppressor T cell
• cytotoxic T cell
• memory T cell
• regulatory T cell
• gamma delta T cell

Variants:

• T lymphocyte
• Thymus-derived cell

Related term:

• T-stem cell
• T cell receptor