The Arneth count or Arneth index describes the nucleus

Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...

 of a type of white blood cell

White blood cell

White blood cells, or leukocytes , are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a...

 called a neutrophil in an attempt to detect disease.

Neutrophils typically have two or three lobes. In general, older neutrophils have more lobes than younger neutrophils. The Arneth count determines the percentage of neutrophils with one, two, three, four, and five or more lobes.

• Individuals who have a larger percentage of neutrophils with fewer lobes have a left shift which can be indicative of disease processes such as infection
  Infection
  An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
  
  , malignant tumors, hemolytic crises, myocardial infarction, acidosis, etc.
• Individuals with a larger percentage of neutrophils with more lobes have a right shift and most commonly have diseases such as vitamin B₁₂ or folate deficiency, chronic uremia, liver disease, etc.

The Arneth count is not commonly used in modern medicine.

It is named for Josef Arneth

Josef Arneth

Josef Arneth was a German physician and haematologist known for naming the Arneth count.-Biography:Josef Arneth was born in 1873 in Burgkunstadt, Upper Franconia. He studied medicine at universities in Munich, Heidelberg and Würzburg, qualifying in 1897...

.