Although pus is often seen as a sign of infection, it is also an indication that the immune system is active and functioning properly. Explain.
Pus is made up of mainly white blood cells, cellular fluid, cell debris. Pus that forms around infections and/or wounds indicates phagocytes in action left behind after phagocytes have done their job. The inflammatory response occurs when tissues are injured. The damaged cells release chemicals including histamine, bradykinin, and prostaglandins. These chemicals cause blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissues, causing swelling. This helps isolate the foreign substance from further contact with body tissues. These chemicals attract white blood cells called phagocytes that gobble up germs and dead or damaged cells. This process is referred to as phagocytosis. Phagocytes eventually die and pus is formed from a collection of dead tissue, dead bacteria, and live and dead phagocytes.Therefore, pus indicates that there is an active, functioning, and somewhat successful inflammatory response against invading microbes that have entered the body.
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2.
Explain two advantages of having memory B cells when a pathogen is encountered for a second time.
When a familiar antigen is encountered, B-lymphocyte memory cells will divide and form new antibody-producing plasma cells. Some memory cells will be left, however, so that the body can respond to any number of future infections with the same pathogen. The second time the immune system encounters a pathogen for a second time, antibodies are produced more rapidly and their effect lasts longer. Memory B cells have an affinity for a particular antigen as well. Also, larger amounts of antibodies are produced in the secondary response resulting in a stronger response.
3. If a child were born without a thymus, what cells and functions would be
deficient? The thymus is the organ of T-cell development and develops this specific type of white blood cells to help fight infections. There would be no way the child could produce antibodies to fight off bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens. Because the child would have no T-cells, their immune system would be compromised, there would be no B-cell activation, and thus, the child would have no adaptive immune response. Not having a thymus would cause the child to have no way to fight off infections. A person born without a thymus gland will not develop an adaptive immune system and may eventually die. 4. Is immunological memory after a natural infection fundamentally different from immunological memory after vaccination? Explain. The only way to get natural immunity is through infection with the actual disease. This means that you have to get sick—sometimes severely ill—to develop resistance. Natural immunity results in better immunity than vaccination, but the risks are much greater. A natural chickenpox infection may result in pneumonia, whereas the vaccine might only cause a sore arm for a couple of days. Overall, the risks of natural infection outweigh the risks of immunization for every recommended vaccine. Natural immunity occurs when one is exposed to a disease and becomes infected. During a vaccination, the antigen of a pathogen is introduced into the body through a weakened form of the pathogen that cannot cause an infection. This stimulates the immune system to develop a specific immunity against that pathogen without actually causing the disease that the pathogen brings.Vaccines do not exist for every pathogen due to frequent strain mutations and challenges in producing an immunization strong enough to work, but not strong enough to cause an infection. Vaccination can be used to generate a mild, primary immune response against an inactivated pathogen, which will allow the secondary immune response to function the first time the immune system encounters the actual pathogen.
What is the physiologic mechanism causing the wound to become red, hot, swollen, and painful?How is this different than the inflammatory response that might occur in an internal organ?
The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body, and it defends the body from “foreign invaders.” Immunity can be divided in two three different defenses, and these are defined as first, second and third lines of defense. The first line of defense for the immune system is the primary defense against pathogens entering the body from the surface in order to prevent the start of disease and infection. Some examples of the first line of defense is the skin, protecting the external boundaries of the body, and the mucous membranes, protecting the internal boundaries of the body. Although the skin and mucous membranes work on the internal and external boundaries, they both release chemicals
d) Name the conditions the non-healthy zygotes have. Zygote 1 has monosomy (it has a missing chromosome); Zygote 2 and 3 has trisomy (they have an extra chromosome).
The job of the immune system is to keep “foreign” invaders out of the body, or if one gets in, to seek it out and kill it. These foreign invaders are called pathogens, which are tiny organisms that can cause an infection in the body. Pathogens can be bacteria, parasites, and fungi (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/immuneSystem/pages/whatisimmunesystem.aspx).
blood stream then the immune system would produce antibodies which could then be used in the
The function of the immune system is it helps play a vital part of our everyday lives. It helps protect our bodies where ever we go. Our immune systems help defend our bodies against germs and microorganisms. The immune system is made up of various special cells, tissues, organs and proteins. This special system does an amazing job of keeping our bodies healthy and in good shape from different diseases and infections.
... bones, into T-lymphocytes in the thymus. T-lymphocytes are programmed to fight specific antigens entering the body and distinguish between body cells and tissues, and foreign matter within the body. This foreign matter is isolated by the T-lymphocytes and triggers the immune system to react to the alien matter thus destroying it. Because the T-lymphocytes are programmed to only react to specific antigens, they would have no effect on other antigens and therefore would need programming to react to these. The T-lymphocytes enter the bloodstream; some enter the lymphatic system and the others circulate around the cardiovascular system. The Thymus gland grows from birth until adolescence where it reaches its peak. Beyond this, the thymus reduces in size and effective ability to produce the T-lymphocytes and by middle age, is roughly the same size as it was at birth.
Vaccines are made to mimic infections. For example, the influenza vaccine mimics the virus, but is a weakened form of it, making it difficult for the virus to reproduce or cause any serious damage. When the vaccine enters the body, T cells and B cells from the immune system begin to attack it and defend the rest of the body from the weakened virus. Not only are the T and B cells able to rid the body of the virus, some of the cells become memory cells. The memory cells then “teach” other cells how to fight of the virus. Because of this, when the body becomes infected with the real virus, the cells will know exactly how to protect the body from the virus (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
The inflammatory response is a nonspecific response to cellular injury and bacterial invasion. Inflammation is the primary defense in early gingivitis. Biofilm can initiate an inflammatory response if it is left undisturbed for as little as seventy two hours. Redness and swelling are two of the cardinal signs of inflammation and can be observed clinically in gingivitis. Histamine is released by mast cells and responsible for the redness and swelling of tissues. Histamine causes both an increase in vascularity and permeability of blood vessels at the site of injury. Swelling may occur in response to the accumulation of fluid at a specific site. The inflammatory response includes cellular components of the immune system polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes are crucial to the cellular immune response. Polyporphonuclear leukocytes are the first cells that arrive at an inflammatory site. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes arrive at the site via chemotaxis, and begin to phagocytize bacteria. As the disease continues and the inflammatory reaction is not strong enough to subside the bacterial infection the immune response is further
Bacteria exist everywhere in the environment and have continuous access to the body through the mouth, nose and pores of skin. Further more, many cells age and die daily and their remains must be removed, this is where the white blood cell plays its role.
Inflammation which is part of the innate immune system is a process by which the body reacts to injury protecting it from infection and foreign substances with the help of the body’s white blood cells “Inflammation can be defined as the body’s local vascular and cellular response to injury caused by factors that invade and injure the body from the outside (exogenous factors) or factors within the body that result in cellular or tissue injury (endogenous) factors” (Battle, 2009, P 238). Factors such as bacteria, viruses, burns, frostbite, chemical irritants, immune reactions and physical injury are examples of factors that can cause inflammation through different mechanisms. It is a protective mechanism with rapid response that neutralizes or destroys agents that causes injury and creates a barrier that limit the injury and prevents its spread to normal tissues (Battle, 2009). Also, it has elements that removes debris and heals the wound generated by the injury. It can be divided into acute and chronic inflammation.
The lymphatic system is a link of tissues and organs that help clear the poisonous toxins, waste and further unwanted elements that are inside the human body. The key function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph which is a watery fluid substance holding infection that are fighting white blood cells, all over the human body.
For many years before the development of vaccines, it was known that after recovery from certain diseases some people would not become infected when exposed to it again. This course by which a person is protected from certain diseases after natural infection is termed active immunity. The person is protected since the immune system remembers the past infection and reacts quickly when it comes across the issue again. Yet, for diseases that can be life-threatening, attaining immunity in this way entails running the risk of death upon the first encounter. Even for non life-threatening diseases, a lot of infections carry a risk of grave complications after recovery and so it would be preferable to obtain immunity without taking unwarranted risks. Active immunity by way of vaccination presents a much safer alternative (Childhood Vaccinations: Understanding Vaccines, 2006).
The immune system is a fascinating structure it defends the body against foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses and parasites. There are two primary forms that make up the immune system they are, innate and adaptive systems. Both the innate and adaptive system plays a large role in the immune system. The innate is the primary system to defend against foreign materials and the adaptive is the secondary system that responds to specific issues.