IMMUNE FOR LIFE INFORMATION FILE: YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Remember those kaleidoscopes we enjoyed looking into so much as children? Wasn’t it marvelous^ the infinite variety of patterns produced by simply turning one end of the tube? Well, kaleidoscopes contain but a few pieces of colored glass, but they manage to produce an incredible number of visual patterns. In some respects your immune system is like a kaleidoscope. With a limited number of weapons, it puts up an almost endless variety of defenses against disease.
Because there are so many kinds of disease eager to challenge your defense network, your immune system has developed a variety of immune “soldiers,” each with its own weapons and method of attack. Some parts of your immune system don’t actually engage in battle. Instead, they act like computers, storing information on the enemy and its characteristics, or serve to control other immune cells.
The individual parts of the immune system are strong fighters, each in their own way. No single component of the immune system, however, is a match for the many diseases that are eager to harm you. But taken as a whole, the immune system packs an incredible wallop, each part contributing in its own special way.
And a lot of parts there are. You may have heard these terms tossed about: T-cells, B-cells, killer cells, interferon, lymphocytes, phagocytes, T-4, lymph glands, and so on. Let’s begin this brief discussion of the immune system by looking at the white blood cells called phagocytes (cell “eaters”). Then we’ll examine the lymphocytes, also known as T-cells and B-cells. Next comes a peek at the complement system, and finally some words on interferon and interleukin.
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