Our speaker was our own Lexie, who gave us an insight into the body’s Immune Response
Our speaker was our own Lexie, who gave us an insight into the body’s Immune Response, which embraces a coterie of mechanisms designed to fight off foreign substances which invade the human body and do not have its best interests at heart. These organisms include microbes, cancer cells, transplanted cells, transformed body cells, bacteria, viruses parasites and fungi. As the human body can provide an ideal environment for microbes, their intent is to break into the fortress and wreak their own particular brand of mayhem, and any microbe that can trigger this immune response is termed an antigen, which can take the form of a virus or even a part of a microbe. The most common of the bacterial varieties of harmful entities are viruses, protozoa and fungi, both yeasts and moulds.
The immunity has two parts, the innate and the adaptive or secondary response, the first being, for example, mucus, sneezing, and stomach acids. These mechanisms are present from birth, are unspecific and do not create an enhanced secondary response. It is the task of the immune system to keep out the microbes, or, failing that, to destroy them. However, the system is exceedingly complex, and if the system hits the wrong target or is compromised, it can unleash a torrent of diseases. But in general the complexity allows the body to recognize millions of different enemies: it is able to produce secretions and cells to match up with and wipe out each (or at least, most) of them.
The Adaptive Response is a specific destroyer, and in effect only protects the body from cells that it recognizes. For this purpose, it is itself adaptive inasmuch as this response does produce memory cells. Essentially, once these new enemies are recalled, the next time they appear they are dealt with far more quickly and effectively when the antigen is encountered. The Adaptive Response cells are T and B lymphocytes, the former of which produce antibodies and the latter produce cell messages or simply destroy foreign cells. These foreign cells comprise virus infected and cancer cells, altered body and fungal cells, protozoa and transplanted cells.
The primary organs of the immune system are positioned throughout the body and are termed lymphoid organs, being home to lymphocytes, small white blood cells that are key players in the integrated system. One has to report that the subject is one of eye-wavering complexity: the exam follows in a couple of weeks.