The Immune System

One of the most important systems in the body of any species is the immune system. The immune system is a biological response that protects the body from dangerous pathogens that can cause harm or even death to the body. Without a well developed immune system that best fits the species’ body, an animal would have no chance of survival. A successful immune system has a myriad of mechanisms to protect the body from pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. The immune system has many mechanisms that enable it to protect the body from pathogens, such as mucus, phagocytes and effectors, or fevers.

The skin of an animal is the one of the first external defenses against an infection, since it forms an impenetrable barrier of epithelium, which are layers of keratinized cells. Epithelium is a term for the layers of cells that line the outer surface and the inner cavities of the body. Though only some species have skin cells that consist of keratin, keratin can be found in the feathers of a bird, the scales of a reptile or in the skin of a human and primates. Due to the many places keratin can be found, it shows us that the external layer of keratin cells, or what humans have as skin, are not just a first line defense for humans. Skin is not just a layer on the outside, but epithelia, layers of keratinized cells, line the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogential tracts where infections are common. In the internal surfaces, these internal surfaces are vulnerable to microbial invasions, known as mucosal surfaces or mucosae. Mucosal surfaces are constantly bathed in the mucus that their glands secrete; these secretions fight microorganisms that get stuck and cultivate themselves in the mucus. Mucus is a thick fluid layer that contains anti...

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...f mechanisms that an immune system uses to heal and protect the body. One way is the mucus produced by the glands in the body which capture pathogens entering the openings or the most vulnerable places of a body and flushes them out. Another mechanism is the proficient effector molecules that mark the pathogens for the phagocytes that ingest and then eliminate them. Finally there is the chemical response of temporarily sustaining a high temperature to kill off pathogen that have entered and damaged the body, this is called a fever. The immune systems has more than three mechanisms to fight infections and pathogens that enter the body from stopping them before any damage is done, healing the damage that the body has sustained, to eliminating the pathogens that are causing bodily harm.

Works Cited

1) Parham P. 2009. Immune System [Internet]. 3. Cited 2014 May 1