BIOG251 Chapter 12.1: The Immune System

Immunology

The study of the body’s response to infectious agents

What are the main goals of the immune system?

Survey the body for entities, identify any non-self entities and kill them

Lymphatic fluid

Plasma-like liquid that transports white blood cells; flows from extremities to the heart and accompany blood capillaries

What are the systems within the immune system?

Circulatory and lymphatic

PRR

Pattern recognition receptors, identify PAMPS as non-self

PAMP

Pathogens-associated molecular patterns, common microbe markers that identify a microbe as a pathogen

Bone marrow

Where B cells mature

Where are all white blood cells made?

Bone marrow

Thymus

Where T cells mature

Overtime the thymus is replaced with what?

Fat

Primary immune structures

Bone marrow and the thymus

Secondary lymphoid organs

Act as a filter

Lymph nodes

Clusters of B and T cells; found in the neck, groin, and armpits; swell when sick

Spleen

Filters red blood cells and pathogens; is home to a large amount of phagocytes

Tonsils

Lymphocytes in the pharynx

Peyers

Lymphocytes in the small intestine

Innate immunity

The immune system a person is born with, is the first line of defense

Adaptive immunity

The system people develop overtime with exposure to pathogens

First line of defense

Physical barriers that block portals of entry

Phagocytosis

The process in which a cell engulfs another cell

What components make up blood?

Plasma, white blood cells, platelets, red blood cells

Skin as a first line of defense

Thick layers of dry skin and dead skin block microbe entry; sweat flushes pathogens off of the body

Mucus

Prevent microbes from being able to attach to the host

The human microbiome as a first line of defense

Creates unfavorable conditions for pathogens and acts as a physical barrier

Lysozymes

Enzyme found in tears and saliva that hydrolyzes peptidoglycan