The Immune System
Unit 3 Transportation Systems
Structures of the Immune System
Functions of the Immune System
• Provide immunity to the body by protecting
against disease.
• Identify and kill pathogens and tumor cells.
• Produces white blood cells and antibodies.
• Filters out organisms that cause disease.
How does the immune system
work?
How does the immune system
work?
• White blood cells
• Filtration
White Blood Cells
• Protect against infection and disease.
• Produced in the bone marrow and the
thymus and then circulate around the body
through the blood stream and lymph vessels
• Can kill pathogens and infected cells or
produce antibodies
– Many are produced on-demand
Lymph Nodes
• Filters or traps foreign
particles.
• Contain white blood
cells.
• Found throughout the
body in the neck,
armpit, chest,
abdomen, elbows,
groin, and knees.
Tonsils
• Lymphoid tissue located
on either side of the
throat.
• Destroy harmful
organisms that enter the
body through the mouth.
Diseases and
Disorders
• Human immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV)
• Lupus
• Mononucleosis
AIDS
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
• Contagious disease that compromises the immune
system.
• Caused by the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
– AIDS is the final stage of the HIV infection
– Average incubation period for AIDS development is 10
years from point of infection.
• Treated with drug cocktails
– Can become multi drug-resistant through mutation
– There is no cure
• Characterized by opportunistic infections and
physical wasting
– Fungal, bacterial and cancer
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
• Affects Helper T cells
• It’s a retrovirus that
integrates its genes into
the host DNA
• Infected cells produce
additional viral particles
How AIDS & HIV Affect the Body
Lupus
• Chronic,
inflammatory,
autoimmune disorder
affecting many organ
systems.
• Body’s defenses are
turned against itself
and immune cells
attack healthy
tissues.
Mononucleosis
• Also known as the
kissing disease.
• Infectious
inflammatory disease
caused by the
Epstein-Barr virus.
• Most commonly
affects young adults
between the ages of
15 and 25.