Immune System

 Print This Post

5.7   Some of the immature lymphocytes leave the bone marrow and go to the thymus gland. There they undergo a change and become one of the different types of T-cells (for thymus) of the immune system to inhabit the blood, lymph nodes and spleen. This change takes place just before birth and during the first months of life. The thymus also functions as an endocrine gland. Its hormone, thymosin, is important to the maturation of T-cells and is thought to influence them after they leave the thyroid.

 Immune System Soldiers

5.8     Like any modern army, the immune system has specially trained “soldiers” equipped to handle specific attacks. Macrophages literally surround and engulf the enemy – harmful microorganisms; T-cells, sometimes, called “natural killers”, grapple with invaders including cancer cells, in hand-to-hand combat; T-cells produce antibodies specifically designed to seek out and destroy targeted germs; neutrophils serve as the foot soldiers for this internal army. Lightly armed, the neutrophils are often among the first to enter fray enmass sacrificing in large numbers to keep the body healthy. There are also helper T-cells to assist in “combat control”, and suppressor T-cells to help calm things down once the battle has been won.

5.9  Although they possess tremendous power, the immune system soldiers are absolutely dependent on their supply system. Without the proper nutrients to keep it strong, our internal army would quickly weaken and be overrun by the enemy – the diseases. What do our immune soldiers require? The same macronutrients, comprising proteins, carbohydrates and fats, and micronutrients, comprising vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and other substances that keep the rest of the body healthy. A deficiency of even a single vitamin or mineral can hamper the immune system, reducing the production of T-cells, impairing their ability to ingest foreign bodies, interfering with the manufacture of antibodies by the T-cells, or otherwise weakening our internal army.

  The Lymph Nodes and Lymph Glands

5.10   Once the macrophages and lymphocytes mature, they circulate in the bloodstream until they reach one of the lymphatic organs, such as the lymph nodes, the spleen, or the tonsils. As lymph circulates through the lymph nodes, microphages along the walls engulf any pathogens, damaged cells, or cell debris present in the lymph fluid. Large lymph nodes are called lymph glands and are located in the armpits, in the groin and at the base of the neck. The “swollen” glands that accompany some infections are actually enlarged lymph glands.