The immune system is divided into two categories, the innate and the adaptive immune system. Each system is a part of the organism, and either one does not necessarily take over more than the other. The innate immune system gets its name and function from being with us from the beginning of our lives (“Introduction to Immunology Tutorial…”, 2000). What I mean by this is that there are certain barriers that immediately know when a foreign invader has entered the body, and the body will respond quickly to that foreign invasion. External barriers include the skin, and the workings of the mucous membranes in body openings. Inside an individual’s body, we find there are several white blood cells, which are called defensive cells, and certain substances …show more content…
A white blood cell, also known as macrophages, are effective in the way that they ingest the unknown pathogen and get rid of it right away (Delves, 2014). The adaptive immune system—which I will talk about later in more detail—will work much slower and will use a variety of lymphocytes and marked antibodies to recognize a particular pathogen, and eliminate it if it were ever to come in contact with it again. The innate immune system will also use several types of cells, with different functions, to get rid of the pathogen. A natural killer cell is an important part of the innate immune system. It specifically recognizes cancerous cells by “looking” at their surfaces. If it were to find a cancerous cell, the natural killer cell would use a poison to kill the cancerous cell (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, …show more content…
Firstly, mast cells, again, come from the bone marrow of an individual and concentrate mostly on the tissues of the individual (Sherwood et al., 2014). They have many important chemicals that support the inflammation response, and provide support for regular infections and allergic reactions (“About Mast Cells…”, n.d.). Monocytes have the ability to form into macrophages and dendritic cells—however, I’ll get to those later. The main function of a monocyte is to mature into their later counter parts (Sherwood et al., 2014). Think of it as a stepping-stone into macrophages and dendritic cells. Macrophages are much larger than monocytes, hence the name. They function by finding a pathogen and ingesting it through phagocytosis (Sherwood et al., 2014). A macrophage can be classified into two different types: M1 and M2. M1 macrophages are incredibly aggressive when a pathogen is presented to them, and as a result, the body responds with an acute inflammatory response. The M2 macrophages act the complete opposite, in which they react a bit slower to pathogens and their inflammatory response is much smaller in comparison (Promo Cell, 2014). Moving on, dendritic cells are very much similar to macrophages as they are relatives of one another. Another reason why they are similar is that they help bridge responses
The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body, and it defends the body from “foreign invaders.” Immunity can be divided in two three different defenses, and these are defined as first, second and third lines of defense. The first line of defense for the immune system is the primary defense against pathogens entering the body from the surface in order to prevent the start of disease and infection. Some examples of the first line of defense is the skin, protecting the external boundaries of the body, and the mucous membranes, protecting the internal boundaries of the body. Although the skin and mucous membranes work on the internal and external boundaries, they both release chemicals
The human immune system is an amazing system that is constantly on the alert protecting us from
Most of the time nonspecific defenses keep pathogens from getting into the body. Sometimes one can break through and cause a disease. This is where the immune system comes into use.
The lymphatic system is very similar, and works with and directly at the side of the cardiovascular system. The lymphatic system has a network of vessels like the circulatory system which pump a plasma-like fluid called lymph around it’s own lymph vessels, and are found in most other tissues of the body, except the central nervous system.
“The lymphatic system is a vital and integral part of the cardiovascular system”. The lymphatic system contains many structures which consist of lymphatic vessels, lymph fluid, lymph cells, lymph nodes and other substances. (Hastie, 2012) The lymphatic system consists of a network of fine tubes or vessels which ramify throughout the body similar to blood vessels. Unlike the blood the fluid is moved by the muscles and limbs. The lymph vessels have fine walls, so water can pass easily through them. The main role of the lymphatic system is too drain off excess fluid from all parts of the body. This prevents the cells getting waterlogged. (Hayes, 2002). Other functions include returning the lymph back to the heart and immune surveillance within
Our immune system protects our bodies from pathogens like bacteria and viruses very efficiently in most cases. One big question that has come up is why does the immune system not respond to cancerous cells in the same way? Why are cancer cells not eradicated like other dangerous foreign cells? This seems very strange, especially since the immune system has cells that are specific to destroying cancer cells and virus-infected cells, called natural killer cells. To begin to answer this question it is useful to examine cancer cells and their interactions with the immune system in more detail.
We are amazing human beings. Our bodies have been carefully constructed to protect ourselves from injury and harm. The protection of our body begins with the brilliant intervention of one small cell. According to Huether and McCance (2012), adaptive immunity is considered the third line of defense within our bodies. Adaptive immunity is summoned after the frontline or “external barriers” are compromised (Huether & McCance, 2012, p. 142). The process of inflammation arrives at the scene of invasion; next adaptive immunity is organized. Adaptive responses help our bodies fight disease at the scene. Additionally, adaptive responses maintain a unique memory to protect the body from future invasions. This paper will explore examples of the specific pathophysiology and associated alterations caused by adaptive responses.
The inflammatory response is a nonspecific response to cellular injury and bacterial invasion. Inflammation is the primary defense in early gingivitis. Biofilm can initiate an inflammatory response if it is left undisturbed for as little as seventy two hours. Redness and swelling are two of the cardinal signs of inflammation and can be observed clinically in gingivitis. Histamine is released by mast cells and responsible for the redness and swelling of tissues. Histamine causes both an increase in vascularity and permeability of blood vessels at the site of injury. Swelling may occur in response to the accumulation of fluid at a specific site. The inflammatory response includes cellular components of the immune system polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes are crucial to the cellular immune response. Polyporphonuclear leukocytes are the first cells that arrive at an inflammatory site. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes arrive at the site via chemotaxis, and begin to phagocytize bacteria. As the disease continues and the inflammatory reaction is not strong enough to subside the bacterial infection the immune response is further
Seattle Education Project. (2013, November). STEP: The Immune System - An Overview, [Online]. Available: http://www.thebody.com/step/immune.html [11/12/14].
When a cell in our body has become infected or has become cancerous it’s surface changes. This is how the immune system can tell good cells from bad ones (the markings on the surface.) Once a bad cell has been recognized our bodies sends cells to destroy the damaged cell and prevent the spread of whatever caused the damage in the first place. The next step our body takes is to have the affected cells start to produce interferons and other helpful substances. These help to fight off unwanted organisms, and also to warn other cells of the invaders and prepare them to resist them therefore preventing the spread of disease.
...the T-cell can either produce antibodies, or can kill the cell entirely. There are a few types of T-cells namely, helper t-cells- which release cytokins to stimulate other lymphocytes to help isolate the antigen. The second is cytotoxic T-cells which are a CD8 co receptor and have the ability to kill antigens directly. These two cells plus Leukocytes are what in turn run our immune cells.
Since enrolling in the Biochemistry and Biotechnology program in North South University (NSU) I have taken different courses in order to complete my degree. However, the immunology courses taken as part of the degree in my second year developed my interest in this subject area. I also learned about the types of immunity; humoral and cell-mediated immunity, that worked in tandem to one another to protect us from possible infections. I wanted to learn about how microscopic living organisms could infect and harm numerous people so quickly. The more I read the more I understood that immunology does not deal with the cellular level only, but over time our body has evolved greatly that it has created defenses at molecular and genetic levels as well.
There are three different types of granular leukocytes. Neutrophil is a phagocyte, produced in the bone marrow that ingests and destroys bacteria extremely fast. Neutrophil has a diameter, which is, about ten to twelve micrometers long. They make up about 60-70 percent of the total number of white blood cells in our body. Eosinphil is a type of white blood cell that secretes poisonous materials in order to kill parasites, allergies and phagocytosis of bacteria, which is when the...
Most doctor do not know much about Systemic Mastocytosis and if they do it is only a little bit. After a while the doctors wanted to keep a close eye on me and my siblings. My brother and I only showed signs of the disease. However, my brother was growing out of the disease and signs of the disease like most kids, who show signs of SM. I on the other hand was not. I have one major sign of SM, which is Dermatographia. Dermatographia is a condition in which lightly scratching your skin causes raised, red lines where you’ve scratches, which is basically hives. But this is not limited to scratches. You could be scratched, hit, or, this has happened to me before, I sat a really cold hold and developed hives. The hives to go way by the time 30 minutes past. Although I do show signs of SM I have not be officially diagnosed. My dog just so happened to have a tumor in her leg. When the vet sent it in to be tested, they found that it was mast cells. My dog has staged two cancer and the same disease as my dad, what is the
We are always hearing on the news and in newspapers about children catching diseases and often dying from them. Why is this happening when all of these diseases are easily preventable by simply being immunised, why aren’t parents getting their children Immunised, is it for religious beliefs or just carelessness. What ever their reason may be is it really good enough, because why would anyone rather let their child be able to catch and spread a deadly disease then have them Immunised, so Immunisation should be made compulsory for all children.