UKMLA PLAB AMC USMLE Prometric MCQ

Question Number 0942
Question:
A 13 year old female has swollen cervical lymph nodes and is febrile. Her blood culture is positive for staphylococcus aureus. She shows other signs of being septic. The intern attending her tells her associate that the patient's WBC count is 15,000 cc/mm with a shift to the left. What does she mean by a 'shift to the left?'

a) increased number of white blood cells in the peripheral blood
b) decreased number of white blood cells in the peripheral blood
c) hypersegmented granulocytes present in the peripheral blood
d) increased number of immature white blood cells in the peripheral blood
e) increased number of immature red blood cells in the peripheral blood