The Human Immune System: the Body's Defense Against Disease

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The Human Immune System: the Body's Defense Against Disease

PR-GB.com (press release) - Sofia,Bulgaria

Written by EditorsChoice

15 September 2007

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It is the most basic instinct of any living thing to fight to

survive. It is for this same reason why the history of mankind has

been constantly marked by various armed battles. Disputes arise

because of conflicts between ideologies and religion. The desire to

acquire others' resources and dominate other territories have

spawned wars. Since the beginning of time, man has not experienced

a respite from bitter struggles that have brought terrible death and

destruction.

In a smaller scale, another battle rages on. Bacteria, viruses and

other molecular elements can be seen as parties in conflict inside

the new battlefield --- the human body. People are already familiar

with the methodology of warfare maybe because it has been frequently

taught in history classes and shown in movies. However, maybe only a

few are aware of how this same process occurs within the human body.

In this case, a person's body is considered the territory with all

its abundant resources. The division that protects the territory,

just like the armed forces in different countries, is called the

immune system. If the armed forces makes use of a group of people

and weaponry for defense, the immune system also has its group of

cells and chemicals. As a systemic and carefully organized scheme

is needed in fighting in order to win, the protecting system of the

human body also makes use of what seems to be a well-planned

strategy. Like any other system, however, human immunity also has

its weaknesses and imperfections.

The immune system is created to protect the body from dangerous

intruders called pathogens. A pathogen, upon invasion of the

territory, will seek to utilize its resources in order to survive.

The survival of the pathogen within the body results to infections.

The type of infection that develops corresponds to the kind of

pathogen that has formed it. It can either be a viral infection such

as in common colds, a bacterial infection like cholera, a fungal

infection such as candidiasis (yeast infection) or a parasitic

infection like malaria. Either way, infections cause diseases that

are detrimental people and may further lead to their death. However,

the human body, just like any other territory, will not just stand

by during the invasion. Upon detection of intruders, its immune

system will automatically react with the similar instinct to

survive.

Coded instructions within cells and other substances enable a

strategically implemented process of protection. When pathogens

enter the initial barrier of the body, they instantly harm the cells

that they come upon. As the cells are injured or infected, it

instantly releases eicosanoids and cytokins. These two serve as

signals that will cause further reaction within the immune system.

Eicosanoids cause the blood vessels to dilate so that the blood will

rush in to the area and it also attracts white blood cells to

respond. The increased blood flow results to inflammation which is

characterized by redness and and swelling. Cytokins on the other

hand help in the communication between white blood cells that will

eliminate the pathogen, attract more immune cells like killer T-

cells and promote healing of the area damaged by pathogens. This

mechanism of the immune system, however, as said earlier has its

weaknesses and imperfections.

Some pathogens, being more complicated to destroy, sometimes have

better chances of survival and to proliferate. When a human's immune

system is not anymore able to fight, external help is already needed

such as antibiotics. Several antibiotics, however, are not 100%

efficient and leave some bacteria to survive. These remaining

bacteria often develop antibiotic resistance, particularly to those

that have already been used against them and can cause a more

dangerous health problem. Newer antibiotics are then necessary in

these situations.

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human-immune-system-the-bodys-defense-against-disease-212729.html