10 Amazing Facts About Your Immune System
The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body against infection and maintain overall health.
The human body is an optimal environment for pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites to thrive. The immune system works to limit these microbes’ access to the body and prevent them from growing and causing illness.
While most people know the basic function of the immune system, there are many intricacies about your body’s natural defense system that you may not be aware of.
Here are 10 amazing facts about the immune system:
1. Each part of the immune system has a unique function.
“Think of the immune system like the military,” says Dat Tran, MD, an immunologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “There are different branches that each serve a unique function in protecting the body.”
The first line of defense, Dr. Tran says, is the white blood cells, which are the first to recognize pathogens and fight off infection. Lymphocytes, a specific type of white blood cells, work to allow the body to remember the invading microbes to fight them faster in future infections.
Other parts of the immune system include the bone marrow, where white blood cells are produced; lymph nodes, which produce and store infection-fighting cells throughout the body; and the spleen, which helps control the amount of blood in the body and cleans out old or damaged blood cells from the body.
2. Vaccines play an important role in educating your immune system.
Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies against a foreign invader without actually infecting the individual with the disease. As a result, when the body encounters that infection in the future, it knows how to fight it off.
“Vaccines educate the immune system using a unique component of that pathogen so, upon exposure to that pathogen in the future, you have very minimal to no symptoms,” Tran says.
3. Every day, we encounter billions of germs, but they’re not all bad.
Though it may not be pleasant to think about, countless microbes live on and in our bodies, and they are actually necessary to maintain good health.
“Good bacteria in our body provides us with nutrients we need and also provides a defense against bad bacteria and infection,” Tran says. A balance needs to be maintained because when good bacteria is reduced, bad bacteria can take over, making us feel sick, he says.Read more
Source: (everydayhealth)
