The immune system is mainly in conjunction with all the systems that are taking place in an animal. The internal environment is of great need to be at a regulated level. We need to be able to know that without the immune system we are dead because they are many pathogens that need the failure of any function of the body to be able to get their way into the immune system. Despite the main role of the immune system in the functioning of the organism the internal environment i. e. the homeostasis of the organism has to be at an optimum level at any one time.
Therefore there needs to be a way in which also the immune system needs to be able to withstand any harsh conditions. The beneficial function of the immune system is that it regulates the function of the organism; on the other hand the immune system needs to have the white blood cells, skin and lymph nodes to be able to function well. The leukocytes also called the white blood cells on the other hand are able to know what is needed to be in the body at any one time. In the event of an invader the white blood cells relay information to the macrophages, the thymus and B cells which are able to destroy the foreign invaders.
The response given by the immune system is possible by the relation between three cells that are: • The macrophages which are produced from monocytes are sent to the internal environment where the immune response is depleted and also places where there is an inflammation. At an older age they do become macrophages that destroy the foreign bodies in a phagocytotic nature; • The thymus which is a derived lymphocyte that is derived from the bone marrow; • The B cells that is also from the bone marrow they present themselves when they mature to be able to produce antibodies.
The produced antibodies are effector molecules that respond only in the humoral immune responses. The three cells explained about are the main cellular components that are present in any immune response that the body poses. The action of the immune system will only be possible through immune responses, which are different modes of elimination of foreign organisms. The elimination of the foreign organisms we are able to be protected from the many diseases that attack us. The leukocytes are found in many places in the organism therefore they are described as lymphoid organs.
Also in the body we find clusters of lymphoid tissue in the form of lymph nodes which are caretakers of the leukocytes. They are mobile in the organism and the manner in which the travel in the organism is through the lymphatic vessels. They are also capable of moving through the blood vessels. For this instance the immune system is capable to check the organism for unwanted organisms which are harmful to the organism. The leukocytes also are in two different types, where we have the cells which have the memory of previous harmful organisms and in the long run are able to destroy them they are called lymphocytes.
There are also leukocytes that are capable of feeding on invading organisms which are called phagocytes. Whenever there is an invasion the body is capable to recognize the newcomer through its antigen-presenting cells, which at most times will mostly be macrophages. The antigen-presenting cells will then present the specific antigen to be able to be seen by the antigen-specific cells at the periphery of the cell. In turn the body produces the antibodies which have the capability of destroying the produced substances from the organisms that have invaded the organism.
Though the killing of the foreign organisms cannot be done by the leukocytes only, the leukocytes need the help of the T lymphocyte that in turn secretes the lymphokines that are capable of making the B cells to divide and be able to differentiate as the antibody-forming cells to be able to respond to an antigenic stimulus. Therefore the destroyed organism makes the humoral immune response to have the capability of doing the function by the help of the macrophages, T lymphocytes and the B cells so as to be able to produce antibodies of the specific antigen of the foreign body.
The antibodies are mainly glycoprotein specific in nature for the antigen of the invader. This is an advantage to the host making it be able to resist most infections that are from bacteria, and also be able to allow more of phagocytosis of the organism by the macrophages and neutrophils. Hence the phagocytes are capable to take up the bacteria through phagocytosis (Tiffany, Philip, Neil, & Lawrence, 1985, p. 136).