  phagocytes are cells that protect the body by ingesting (phagocytosing) harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells. their name comes from the greek phagein, "to eat" or "devour", and "-cyte", the suffix in biology denoting "cell", from the greek kutos, "hollow vessel". they are essential for fighting infections and for subsequent immunity. phagocytes are important throughout the animal kingdom and are highly developed within vertebrates. one litre of human blood contains about six billion phagocytes. they were first discovered in 1882 by ilya ilyich mechnikov while he was studying starfish larvae.ilya mechnikov, retrieved on november 28, 2008. from nobel lectures, physiology or medicine 1901â1921, elsevier publishing company, amsterdam, 1967.  mechnikov was awarded the 1908 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his discovery. phagocytes occur in many species; some amoebae behave like macrophage phagocytes, which suggests that phagocytes appeared early in the evolution of life.janeway, chapter: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=phagocytes,evolution&rid=imm.section.
Phagocytes