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Overview of the Immune System and Cells

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The immune system has dual natures in series with non-self/self recognition being the most important. Other natures are adaptive/nature or acquired/innate, secondary/primary, passive/active, humoral/cell mediated and some parts or antigen specific. Antigen specific means when it recognizes certain antigens it will act upon them. Some pats are systemic which is the don't just stay at the infected area but go through the body and they have memory, so when they come the same antigen again they know, they will attack it even stronger. The non-self/self recognition is every cell has marker based on the major histocompatibility complex and cells without this marker or attacked as non-self. This works so well that proteins that are not digested treated the same as antigens.

There are certain diseases that break down the immune system and it attacks the self cells. These diseases are called autoimmune and some of these are forms of diabetes and arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis. When the immune system responds inappropriately to innocuous substances such as allergies, this is called allergen.

The two fluid systems are the lymph and blood system are responsible for transporting the immune systems agents through the body. The blood system contains five liters of blood which is about seven percent of a person's body weight. Blood is made of fifty two to sixty two percent liquid plasma and thirty eight to forty

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