The Human 's Lymphatic System

HIV has affected people all across the world. HIV comes with physical and mental symptoms. The body symptoms include skin flaking off, being dry, skin peeling off (Saliba 23) , fingernails falling off (32), and weight loss (14). Mentally it is hard to sleep, people become weak, and are tired all the time (23). People all across the world are infected with this disease, and the problem with this is the fact that most do not even know they have it. The most people who are infected each year are African Americans, gays, or bisexuals. 10,315 African Americans were infected in 2015. The U.S.A. has estimated about 1.1 million are infected with the disease. Equally to about 12,333 deaths happened in 2014 from AIDS related diseases, and 6,721 deaths from AIDS directly. Although there are a large amount of people getting infected, on the other hand eighteen percent of the population with HIV is declining since 2008-2014 (“U.S. Statistics”). In the world about 33.2 million people worldwide have HIV, with 22.5 million people in sub Saharan Africa are living with this condition, one out of nine people who live in South America have HIV or AIDS (Saliba 8).

The immune system is made up of several types of cells that work together to fight infections. Lymph cells (called lymphocytes) are the main type of cell in the adaptive immune system. There are 2 types of lymph cells: T cells and B cells. When B cells respond to an infection, they change into plasma cells. The plasma cells are found mainly in the bone marrow—the soft, inner part of some bones. The plasma cells

The term Human Immunodeficiency Virus is commonly known as (HIV), which is a virus that attacks the immune system of humans by destroying the amount of CD4 cells in their bodies. Without CD4 the human body is unable to fight against diseases, which can lead to Acquired Immune deficiency syndrome known as AIDS for short. The first case of the HIV/AIDS virus in the U.S. occurred in the early 1980’s. The first spark of the virus was found in San Francisco with couple of homosexual Caucasian American males. Today African Americans account for the largest proportion of HIV and AIDS in this country, represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in 2010(the last year a study was

The immune system plays a vital role in helping the body to fight diseases, as well as pathogens, the disease-causing factors. It is mainly composed of the tonsils and adenoids, the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels, the spleen, appendix, and bone marrow. The main purpose of the immune system is to assist the body in its struggle to maintain optimal health.

The innate immune system is effective to a certain degree. That said, if the environment is regulated then the body is less likely to get ill. Innate immunity is effective as once the patient matures his immune system will mature due to the B and T memory cells. The memory cells will help the body prepare for the virus once it has arrived. The memory cells will send specialised lymph nodes to the invading pathogen. The B and T memory cells are key to immunity of a virus.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is HIV that develops into AIDS, which is Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This virus starts to break down white blood cells, as a result the immune system starts to deteriorate and our greatest shield cannot fight any longer (Mayo Clinic, 2016). The CDC (2015) states, that over 1.2 million people live with HIV in the United States and most who are infected are oblivious of their disease. Healthy people 2020 has declared HIV a public health crisis in the United States, and continues to sweep the nation with more than 500,000 new cases each year (HealthyPeople2020,2016).

The lymphatic system is very similar, and works with and directly at the side of the cardiovascular system. The lymphatic system has a network of vessels like the circulatory system which pump a plasma-like fluid called lymph around it’s own lymph vessels, and are found in most other tissues of the body, except the central nervous system.

There have been 4,043 reported diagnosed cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection (HIV) per 100,000 populations. Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus attacks a specific white blood cell called T- helper cells which are used to fight off infection. As the virus destroys the t- helper cells, it replicates, destroying the immune system of the individual. Individuals who have the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection will have to constantly take medication to suppress the spread of the disease. If left untreated it will become very difficult for the individual’s body to fight off the virus resulting in death.

The organs that make up the lymphatic and immune system are the tonsils, spleen, thymus gland, lymph nodes, and lymphatic vessels. White blood cells (leukocytes), red blood cells (erythrocytes), plasma, and platelets (thrombocytes) make up the blood. Lymphocytes are leukocytes (white blood cells) that help the body fight off diseases. Two types of lymphocytes are B cells and T cells. Lymphocytes recognize antigens, or foreign substances/matter, in the body. Lymphocytes are a classification of agranulocytes, or cells (-cytes) without (a-) granules (granul/o) in the cytoplasm. B cells are created from stem cells, which are located in the bone marrow. B cells respond to antigens by becoming plasma cells. These plasma cells then create antibodies. Memory B cells produce a stronger response with the next exposure to the antigen. B cells fight off infection and bacteria while T cells defend against viruses and cancer cells. A hormone created by the thymus gland called thymosin changes lymphocytes into T cells. The thymus gland is active when you are a child and slowly shrinks, as you get older. T cells bind to the antigens on the cells and directly attack them. T cells secrete lymphokines that increase T cell production and directly kill cells with antigens. There are three types of T cells: cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells, and memory T cells.

What is HIV? It is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS if not treated. The Kaiser Family Foundation (2008), states that HIV attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells), which help the immune system fight off infections. If left untreated, it reduces the number of T-Cells in the body, making the person more likely to get other infections. Also noted is the fact that HIV destroys so many of these cells that it renders the body helpless in fighting off the infections, while it takes advantage of the weaker immune system. This occurrence is part of the

The lymphatic system is a system of thin tubes that go throughout the body. The tubes are called lymphatic vessels.

They are of two type; phagocytes and lymphocytes. “Phagocytes are cells that engulf foreign bodies that might harm the normal functioning of the body (Gordon, 2005).” Lymphocytes on the other hand are white blood cells that allow the body to identify and recall previous foreign bodies and destroy them. Lymphocytes are of two types; B cells and T cells. B cell matures in the bone marrow and makes antibodies that that attacks bacteria and toxins. T cells multiply in thymus and are capable of producing an immune response. “The cellular component of the immune system comprises a range of cell types that are responsible for the activation, execution and termination of immune responses. T cells play a central role in the immune system, and are a perfect example of the complexity of the immune network (Cretney, & Nutt 2011, 10 p. 19).”

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) affects the human wellbeing by attacking the body’s immune system which is the natural defense system in the human body to resist infections. When the immune system is compromised, the body becomes less capable of fighting diseases, allowing the body to become more susceptible to infections. Different from other viruses that the body can get rid of, HIV will remain in the body for life (Wright and Carnes, 2016). HIV works by attacking the CD4 cells, which assist the immune system to resist infections. If not treated the virus decreases the number of T-cells in the body, thus making the person’s immune system highly prone to infections or infection-related cancers (Wright and Carnes, 2016). After the body’s immunity is depleted, therefore allowing opportunistic infections increase in the body, reaching the final HIV stage known as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is rapidly approaching (Wright and Carnes, 2016).

Vaccinations are a needle injected into usually the arm but on infants may also be injected in the leg. Without causing infection, vaccines trick the immune system into responding as if the body is under attack from a specific bacterium or virus by introducing dead or weakened versions of the germ and inactivated toxins from that germ. The body’s response is to build up anti bodies against the disease in a process called natural immunisation. These antibodies are produced by B cells, they lock onto the antigen of the invading bacteria. These B cells are also known as memory cells these cells are able to live for a long time and can respond quickly following a second exposure to the virus. This is called being ‘immune’ to a disease. The immune system consists of numerous tissues and organs. These include the lymphatic system, lymph nodes and lymph fluid. Lymph fluid is where white blood

There were a few things that I learned about that I did not know before. What I learned about HIV/AIDS that I did not know before is that an uninfected person can have between 800 and 1000 immune fighting cells, which are known as T Cells. If HIV does enough damage to a person’s immune system, then their T Cells can drop to a dangerously low level. When a person’s T Cells drop below 200 their diagnosis changes from HIV positive to AIDS. Without the right amount of T Cells