Specific Defenses

OK. Here we go. How can we fight off enemies? How can we recognize what needs to be fought off (foreign materials) from what needs to be left alone (our own, natural materials)? How can we defend ourselves against tough foreigners within?

In order to answer all of these questions, you will first need to know more about lymphocytes themselves. You already know that there are T cells and B cells. But there are also many types of each. After you learn about lymphocytes, the next thing to learn about is how these cells (and macrophages) interact with the foreign materials-- that is called cell-mediated immunity. The final set of steps is to learn how we can create a more amplified and specific means of attacking the invaders-- antibody-mediated immunity.

Keep in mind that for some of these items, I have described them a bit differently than in your book. The immune system is quite complex, and I feel as though your textbook leaves out some holes that makes understanding immunity challenging (mainly for cell-mediated immunity). Therefore, I have added some information that I hope will help.

Ready to start? Get going with lymphocytes!