The terms "macrophage" and "microphage" are used in

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

to describe

heterotrophs A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

that consume food in two different ways. Both macrophages and microphages "ingest solid food and may process it through some sort of

alimentary canal The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

."Sterner, R.W. and J.J. Elser. Ecological Stoichiometry:-) The Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere. Princeton University Press, 2002. However, a macrophage "handles food items singly, while a microphage handles food items in bulk without manipulating them individually."Taghon, G.L. 1981. Beyond Selection: Optimal Ingestion Rate as a Function of Food Value. The American Naturalist. 118(2). Microphages include suspension feeders, and often incidentally digest low-quality food items. Another category of heterotrophs based on feeding mechanism, known as " osmotrophs," is made up of organisms (primarily fungi and bacteria) that absorb organism matter directly across their cell membranes. The terms "macrophage" and "microphage" were originally used in this sense by Jordan and Hirsch (1927; cited in Yonge 1928). Although they have been used in ecology texts as recently as 2002, the terms macrophage and

microphage Neutrophils (also known as neutrocytes or heterophils) are the most abundant type of granulocytes and make up 40% to 70% of all white blood cells in humans. They form an essential part of the innate immune system, with their functions varying in ...

today are primarily used to describe two different types of

white blood cells White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mult ...

in the

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxon, taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with vertebral column, backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the ...

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells and objects such ...

References

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