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
When functioning properly, the immune system identifies a variety of threats, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, and distinguishes them from the body’s own healthy tissue. The major components of the immune system include: lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, lymphocytes, thymus, and leukocytes. Lymph nodes are small bean shaped structures that produce and store cells that fight infection and disease and are part of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system and the immune system are very closely related. Lymph nodes also contain a clear fluid that carries cells to different parts of the body. When the body is fighting off infection lymph nodes can become enlarged and swollen and even feel sore. For example, when the body is trying to fight off an infection you may notice that the lymph nodes around your neck which are located under your ears become
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.
Differentiate and describe between monocytes and macrophages (Innate Immunity) and B cells defining antibodies and T cells defining cytokines (adaptive immunity).
1. EQ: How does the structure and function of my immune system keep me healthy?
On the other hand natural immunity is the immunity that occurs naturally in our bodies. Our natural immune system includes all our non-specific immune responses such as natural barriers in place which are referred to as the first and second line of defense. These are systems which naturally are present to non-specifically target any foreign particles which may enter the body. Basically natural immunity is inheritable and present from birth and also remains throughout a persons lifetime and it protects the individual from contraction of diseases or other organisms. Acquired immunity develops during a lifetime and can be short-lived or life-long and protects the individual from pathogens using memory T cells which recognise the antigen if it is re-introduced.
Seattle Education Project. (2013, November). STEP: The Immune System - An Overview, [Online]. Available: http://www.thebody.com/step/immune.html [11/12/14].
The innate immune system is given to you at birth and always has microbes ready to fight (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). This system is very fast to detect and attempt to eliminate any invading cells. It reacts by triggering Toll-like receptors (TLRs) who then fasten to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). The first line of defense in the innate immune system contains the skin and mucous membranes, along with normal microbiota (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). The second line of defense of the “early-warning” system consists of natural killer cells, phagocytes, eosinophils, dendritic cells, macrophages, inflammation, fever, and antimicrobial substances (Joanne M. Willey, 2014). Although a powerful system, it cannot take
Within the in the bodies immune system there are two lines of defense. The first line of defenser being is the non-specific innate immunity. Non-specific immunity repels all microorganisms equally (John H. Humphrey, 2014). The second line of defense is the immune response. The immune response goes after specific invaders. Each line of defense works differently but together they work to keep the body health, and clear of pathogens that are harmfull. The body takes chronological steps to maintain its defenses. The first step being the first line defense. These can include the mucus membranes and the skin. Next is the second line of defense, these come from the non-specific defense sytem. Once pathogens pass through the first line of defense the second line of defense responds in turn through processes of inflammatory response and fever. If both the first and second defenses are incapable of containing the pathogen then a third line of defense is activated. The third line of defense being a specific immune response. Specific pathogens are attacked through the specific immune response by the process of B-cell production of antibodies, which attack the virus or bacteria in extra-cellular fluid (Martini & Nath, 2009). Lastly T-cells proceed to kill the infected cells. The T-cell as well as the B-cell can both be located in the lymph nodes of the
Some white blood cells, called granulocytes, are filled with microscopic granules that are little sacs containing enzymes (compounds that digest microorganisms). Neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils are all granulocytes and are part of the innate immune system with somewhat nonspecific, broad-based activity. They do not respond exclusively to specific antigens, as do the lymphocytes (B-cells and T-cells).
Today I will discuss the immune system and what makes it so important and vital for our everyday well-being and defending our body against sickness and disease.. First off, what is the immune system? Vaccines.gov informs readers that, “The immune system is a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against attacks by “foreign” invaders. These are primarily microbes—tiny organisms such as bacteria, parasites, and fungi that can cause infections.” Why are these important to us as humans? Very simple, without our immune system ,things such as viruses, the common cold and flu, would likely cause severe trauma or death to our body very easily. However, antibodies
What is innate immunity? Innate immunity is a human defense mechanisms that the body acquire at birth to fight off infections and help out with the healing process when the body in injured. The first line of defense consists of barriers on the surface of the skin, which is nothing but normal flora of the body. This enables the body to fight off infections. The second line of defense consists of inflammation at the site of injury or infection. During this line of defense job is to stop the injury from spreading to other tissues. This line of
biology, immunity system is a state of having sufficient biological defense to avoid infection, disease or other unwanted biological invasion."
White blood cells are a large part of the Immune system, and greatly contribute to the
The immune system is a fascinating structure it defends the body against foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses and parasites. There are two primary forms that make up the immune system they are, innate and adaptive systems. Both the innate and adaptive system plays a large role in the immune system. The innate is the primary system to defend against foreign materials and the adaptive is the secondary system that responds to specific issues.