what cells eat bacteria?
White Blood Cells: neutrophils & lymphocytes. There are five types of white blood cells, but only two are of importance in this discussion. One type is the neutrophil, which accounts for about 60% of all white cells. During infections, these cells divide and are dumped into the blood stream and lymph fluids to combat the infection. They fight invaders by eating bacteria and other foreign matter. The neutrophil membrane wraps around the invader and traps it inside the neutrophil. Once inside, digestive enzymes in the neutrophil destroy the invader. The cell nucleus in new, young neutrophils tends to break into pieces as they age.