Learn About The Immune System
Ranked #2,520 in Education, #60,565 overall
How the immune system fights
The immune system is the police of the body. Almost every cell and space in the body is patrolled for intruders and abnormalities. Specialized cell types carry out certain functions:
- Macrophages devour bacteria, viruses, abnormal cells and debris. They warn T-cells about viruses and bacteria.
- T-cells patrol cells of the body and make sure they are o.k. They get signals from macrophages. T-cells coordinate a lot of the immune response. They tell B-cell to produce antibodies and they can kill abnormal cells that are then absorbed by macrophages.
- B-cells produce antibodies. Antibodies are small molecules that attach to certain structures at other cells like bacteria. By clotting the surface of bacteria they become inactive and can be devoured by macrophages. Each B-cell produces a specialized antibody that targets a specific bacteria or virus. Once a B-cell became active it stays on alert. This is why you suffer from a children's disease only once and why you are immune to a common cold in winter after you went through it.
There three types of organs that are part of the immune system:
- The bone marrow is where all blood cells of the immune system are produced.
- The thymus is the training station of the T-cells. Here, T-cells learn to distinguish between structures that belong to the body and foreign cell structures of bacteria and viruses.
- Lymph nodes are communication centers of the immune cells. Here macrophages inform T-cells which in turn trigger B-cells to produce antibodies. There multiple lymph nodes in the human body such that close to every part of the body there is such a communication center.
Immunology at a Glance
Immunology at a Glance
Amazon Price: $14.87 (as of 06/01/2012)![]()
Immunology at a Glance will continue to appeal to all students of biomedical science and medicine who want a quick, yet thorough grasp of immunology.
White Blood Cells
- Leukocytes
- Lymphocyte
- Monocytes
- Granulocytes
- B-cells
- Plasma cells
- T-cells
- Helper T-cells
- Killer T-cells
- Suppressor T-cells
- Natural killer cells
- Neutrophils
- Eosinophils
- Basophils
- Phagocytes
- Macrophages
This Third Edition has been extensively revised and updated
The Immune System
Amazon Price: $63.95 (as of 06/02/2012)![]()
The book offers over 500 full-color illustrations that complement and clarify the concepts. The end-of-chapter questions have been expanded and include essay, multiple-choice, and case study questions, with answers provided at the end of the book.
How it works
How the Immune System Works (Blackwell's How It Works)
Amazon Price: $28.99 (as of 06/02/2012)![]()
"This book does an excellent job of giving a comprehensive overview of the basic concepts of immunology in a highly readable style; even practicing immunologists will benefit from the overall perspective presented."
Links
Your immune system is an incredibly complex and remarkable bodyguard. Its job is to protect all the cells in your body from cancer, viruses, bacteria, and other intruders in your environment. Basically, it wages an ongoing war against invasion. It does this by using an army of white blood cells or leukocytes. These white blood cells originate in your bone marrow and rush to the site of any infection or damaging intruder.
There are two divisions of white blood cells - phagocytes and lymphocytes. The phagocytes are like big Pac-Man cells; they go around the body and eat up all foreign substances like bacteria and pollen. Think of them as the armored unit of your immune system.
- Antibodies
- Information on antibodies and their classes.
- The Anatomy of the Immune System
- In depth look at the immune system and all its separate parts, including organs and cells.
- How Stuff Works: Immune System
- Describes the immune system and discusses related topics such as allergies and AIDS.
- Cells of the Immune System
- Descriptions and pictures of the cells involved in the immune response.
- Understanding the Immune System
- A detailed look at the enemies that the immune system fights, the way the immune system recognizes foreign objects, cancer, and technologies currently being studied.
Immune System Mistakes
Sometimes the immune system makes a mistake. One type of mistake is called autoimmunity: the immune system for some reason attacks your own body in the same way it would normally attack a germ. Two common diseases are caused by immune system mistakes. Juvenile-onset diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking and eliminating the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the immune system attacking tissues inside the joints.
Allergies are another form of immune system error. For some reason, in people with allergies, the immune system strongly reacts to an allergen that should be ignored. The allergen might be a certain food, or a certain type of pollen, or a certain type of animal fur. For example, a person allergic to a certain pollen will get a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, etc. This reaction is caused primarily by mast cells in the nasal passages. In reaction to the pollen the mast cells release histamine. Histamine has the effect of causing inflammation, which allows fluid to flow from blood vessels. Histamine also causes itching. To eliminate these symptoms the drug of choice is, of course, an antihistamine.
Immunology at a Glance
Text module
Text module
Flickr Photos
by jeffryv
Explore related pages
- Learn About Google Earth ( My Passion ) Learn About Google Earth ( My Passion )
- Text Formatting Toolbar - For Squidoo Lenses Text Formatting Toolbar - For Squidoo Lenses
- Learn About the Human Skeleton Learn About the Human Skeleton
- Learn About The Human Circulatory System Learn About The Human Circulatory System
- Learn About Seals and Sea Lions Learn About Seals and Sea Lions
- Learn About The Human Endocrine System Learn About The Human Endocrine System
![Immunology at a Glance [Paperback]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jj8sasldL.jpg)