Your immune system protects your body from outside invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxins (being chemicals produced by microbes). It is made up of different organs, cells, and proteins that work together.
There are two main components that make up the immune system:
- The innate immune system, which you are born with.
- The adaptive immune system, which you develop when your body is exposed to microbes or chemicals released by microbes.
These two immune systems work together.
- The Lymphatic system consists of bone marrow, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes.
- Bone marrow produces white blood cells, or leukocytes.
- The spleen is the largest lymphatic organ in the body contains white blood cells that fight infection or disease.
- The thymus is where T-cells mature. T-cells help destroy infected or cancerous cells.
- Lymph nodes produce and store cells that fight infection and disease.
- Lymphocytes and leukocytes are small white blood cells that play a large role in defending the body against disease.
- The two types of lymphocytes are B-cells, which make antibodies that attack bacteria and toxins, and T-cells, which help destroy infected or cancerous cells.
- Leukocytes are white blood cells that identify and eliminate pathogens.
