The Immune System

Basics of the Immune System

The immune system is probably one of the most complicated systems in your body. It communicates with the rest of your body, and also defends it from bad bacteria. It also attacks bad bacteria with cells like macrophages and neutrophils.

This complicated system involves many different parts, but here are the few that I will be talking about:

Macrophage - Defender

Neutrophils - Attacker

Dendritic Cell  - Decision Maker

Helper T Cell - Keeps Other Cells Energized

B Cell - Produces Antibodies

Antibodies - Slows down, immobilizes, and kills bad bacteria

The Process of the Immune System

Say you are cut by a dirty piece of glass. The first barrier of your immune system has been breached. Your skin. Bacteria from the glass then seize the opportunity to flood into the cut. They immediately began to multiply by feeding on your bodies resources.

They swarm unnoticed until they actually began to damage the other cells around them. This is where the macrophages come into play. These large cells guard every part of your body, and most of the time, they can take out a whole infection on their own, swallowing up to 100 bacteria each. They also send out communication proteins so that the body will send out water into the battle so it will make fighting easier. This causes the slight swelling you get after a cut. If the bacteria gets out of control, the macrophages send for backup. Neutrophils leave their patrol in the blood stream to come help. The neutrophils fight so furiously that they actually kill good body cells and themselves in the process. The macrophages then communicate to a different cell, the dendritic cell. These cells are the brain of the immune system. They take samples from the enemy bacteria and decide what the next move should be. When they do decide, they travel to the closest lymph node, which takes them about a day. 

Once the dendritic cells reach the lymph node, they search for T helper cells. When they find them, the dendritic cell presents the samples of the bacteria it had collected, and a chemical reaction takes place between both cells. The T helper cells begin to rapidly multiply. Some of them become memory T helper cells, which are kept in the lymph node, so that if you ever have an infection like this again, it will remember how to efficiently take care of it. The second group of T helper cells go help battle with the bacteria. But the third group travels to the center of the lymph node and finds the virgin B cells. And when they do, they connect, and the B cells, no longer virgin, began to multiply. And during this process, the B cells also produce a swarm of a tiny but powerful weapon: antibodies. The B cells work so hard to produce these antibodies that they begin to shut down. But the T helper cells give them energy by stimulating them.

The infection has gotten out of control. The bacteria has kept multiplying, and many of the defense cells have been killed, even though the T helper cells have been trying there hardest to keep the other cells alive. But finally, help arrives. The antibodies invade the bacteria, disabling and killing them. They also attach to the bacteria, immobilizing them, making them an easy target. The microphages then take care of that bacteria. And then, all of the cells that helped in this battle commit suicide, so as not to infect the body with any bacteria that they might have touched.

How to Keep the Immune System Healthy

If it wasn't for our immune system, we would be very sick, unhealthy, and probably dead. So its a good idea to find ways to keep it strong. Here are some preferable ways to do that:

1. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains

2. Get plenty of exercise

3. Get a sufficient amount of sleep

4. Wash your hands periodically

5. Sustain a healthy weight

6. Don't overdo you intake on alcohol

7. Never smoke

The Respiratory System

The Respiratory System is the system that enables us to breath and function. Every day we breath approximately 23,040 breaths a day. Breathing is, simply, keeps us alive. When we inhale, we breath in oxygen, and when we exhale, we breath out carbon dioxide. This process is called respiration, and I will explain more about it below.

The Four Main Parts

This system involves 4 main parts, the nose, throat, windpipe, and lungs. The air we breath is first filtered through the nose, where tiny hairs pick out any particles of dirt that might have been in the air. The nose also help to moisten the air so it makes it easier for the lungs to work with. While the air passes down toward out lungs, it has to go through the Epiglottis, which is located in the trachea. The Epiglottis is a fleshy flap that makes sure that no liquid or food gets into the lungs. The trachea then goes down farther, about 12 centimeters, until it finally reaches the lungs. The trachea then splits into two, each part going into each lung.

Inside the Lungs

Once the air reaches the lungs, it travels through tiny bronchi, that continuously branches out into smaller bronchi. This air, or oxygen, travels until it reaches the alveolus.

Inside an alveoli, there are multiple chambers. On the outside, the alveoli is covered in capillaries. Blood, not yet containing oxygen, flows through these capillaries. The oxygen from the air, just recently inhaled is absorbed into these blood cells. This causes the change in color from blue blood to red. This blood is now ready to spread throughout the rest of the body.

After this, there is still one more thing to be done. Carbon dioxide is still flowing through the capillaries, so it is then absorbed into the alveolus chamber. From there, it travels all the way back through the bronchi, into the bronchus, back through the trachea, and then finally breathed out by the nostrils. Then, the whole process starts all over again.

How to Keep the System Healthy

As you have learned above, the respiratory system is a very important system to keep healthy and in shape. Here are some great ways to do that:

Stay Hydrated:

Staying hydrated helps to keep a nice thin layer of mucus that lines your airways and lungs. If you don't stay hydrated, then the mucus will become thick and sticky, making it harder to breath.

Avoid Smoking:

Smoking things like cigarettes and pipes are probably the worst thing you can do to your lungs. It basically kills the cells inside your body, causing lung cancer.

Exercise:

Challenging your lungs helps to keep them strong, fit and functioning. Becoming more aware of your breathing rate improves it over time.

Vitamins:

Vitamins like vitamin A, C, and E also help to keep your respiratory system healthy.