Mitochondria are also difficult to detect. It is believe that the mitochondria play little or no role in neutrophil physiology. Any structures detected are more than likely vestigial organelles form earlier developmental stages of the neutrophil. Since it has no mitochondria, the cell derives the energy it requires for cell function by glycolysis. Granules are the most abundant membrane bound organelle.
Granules contain an array of antimicrobial protein.
The three major types of granules are azurophilic, specific, and gelatinase-containing granules. These vesicles contain albumin, but their membranes are more important form neutrophil function. The membranes are extracellularly secreted from the neutrophil or discharged into phagocytic vesicles. As stated in the introduction, neutrophils have an important role in killing invading pathogens. Neutrophils react to invading microorganisms and mediators present within an inflammatory milieu with a variety of rapid and coordinated responses which include movement of cells out of the vascular space along a gradient of chemotactic molecules followed by phagocytosis and killing of the organism.