Learn About The Immune System

How the immune system fights

Inside your body there is an amazing protection mechanism called the immune system. It is designed to defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that would love to invade your body.

Immunology at a Glance

Immunology at a Glance (At a Glance)

by JHL Playfair, Benjamin Chain

Amazon Price: $28.75 (as of 10/07/2008)

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.

NEW release March 2008

How the Immune System Works (Blackwell's How It Works)

by Lauren M. Sompayrac

Amazon Price: $31.45 (as of 10/07/2008)

"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

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.

Questions

How do these chemical changes influence disease?

It is well known that asthma, diabetes, various gastro-intestinal disorders, heart disease and viral infections are influenced by stress, but to what extent?

When the immune system is suppressed, as it is under stress, latent viruses can obviously stage a comeback, but how does stress affect non-viral diseases?

The Immune System

by Peter Parham

Amazon Price: $73.75 (as of 10/07/2008)

Immunology, Fifth Edition

by Richard A. Goldsby, Thomas J. Kindt, Janis Kuby, Barbara A. Osborne

Amazon Price: $85.27 (as of 10/07/2008)

90 Day Immune System Makeover

by Janet C. Maccaro

Amazon Price: $11.04 (as of 10/07/2008)

The Top 100 Immunity Boosters: 100 Recipes to Keep Your Immune System Fighting Fit

by Charlotte Haigh

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 10/07/2008)

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.

White Blood Cells

You are probably aware of the fact that you have "red blood cells" and "white blood cells" in your blood. The white blood cells are probably the most important part of your immune system. And it turns out that "white blood cells" are actually a whole collection of different cells that work together to destroy bacteria and viruses. Here are all of the different types, names and classifications of white blood cells working inside your body right now: