What systems help fight disease?

What systems help fight disease?

What is the immune system? The immune system protects your child’s body from outside invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxins (chemicals produced by microbes). It is made up of different organs, cells, and proteins that work together.

What body system is the most important for fighting disease?

Your immune system is a large network of organs, white blood cells, proteins (antibodies) and chemicals. This system works together to protect you from foreign invaders (bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi) that cause infection, illness and disease.

What is the main cell that fights disease?

White blood cells, also called leukocytes (say: LOO-kuh-sytes), are part of this defense system. There are two basic types of these germ-fighting cells: phagocytes (say: FAH-guh-sytes), which chew up invading germs. lymphocytes (say: LIM-fuh-sytes), which allow the body to remember and recognize previous invaders.

How does the immune system learn to fight new pathogens?

If an antigen enters the body and B-cells recognize it (either from having had the disease before or from being vaccinated against it), B-cells will produce antibodies. When antibodies attach to an antigen (think a lock–key configuration), it signals other parts of the immune system to attack and destroy the invaders.

Which body systems are part of the immune system?

The main parts of the immune system are: white blood cells, antibodies, the complement system, the lymphatic system, the spleen, the thymus, and the bone marrow. These are the parts of your immune system that actively fight infection.

How does the immune system work to fight off infection?

Your white blood cells lock on to the germs in order to absorb or destroy them. They have antibodies that latch onto the germs. Experience makes your immune system stronger. The first time your body comes into contact with a certain type of germ, your immune response may take a while.

How does your body fight diseases?

In general, your body fights disease by keeping things out of your body that are foreign. Your primary defense against pathogenic germs are physical barriers like your skin. You also produce pathogen-destroying chemicals, like lysozyme, found on parts of your body without skin, including your tears and mucus membranes.

What is the function of the primary lymphatic organs?

The primary lymphoid organs are the red bone marrow, in which blood and immune cells are produced, and the thymus, where T-lymphocytes mature. The lymph nodes and spleen are the major secondary lymphoid organs; they filter out pathogens and maintain the population of mature lymphocytes.

How does the body’s immune system fight disease?

Once the body has come into contact with a disease-causing germ for the first time, it usually stores information about the germ and how to fight it. Then, if it comes into contact with the germ again, it recognizes the germ straight away and can start fighting it faster.

What are the two subsystems of the immune system?

There are two subsystems within the immune system, known as the innate (non-specific) immune system and the adaptive (specific) immune system. Both of these subsystems are closely linked and work together whenever a germ or harmful substance triggers an immune response.

How does the nonspecific part of the immune system work?

The evolutionary older innate immune system provides a general defense against pathogens, so it is also called the nonspecific immune system. It works mostly at the level of immune cells like “scavenger cells” or “killer cells.” These cells mostly fight against bacterial infections.

How does the innate immune system fight germs?

It mostly fights using immune cells such as natural killer cells and phagocytes (“eating cells”). The main job of the innate immune system is to fight harmful substances and germs that enter the body, for instance through the skin or digestive system.