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THE IMMUNE RESPONSE

The immune system is a body wide complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that defends you against "foreign" invasions.

We are constantly exposed to infectious agents and can be invaded by disease. Therefore we must continually protect ourselves against pathogens. It is our immune system that enables us to resist infections.

There are many aspects of the immune system. There are two key branches - the specific and non specific response. The immune system also has the ability to distinguish between self and non-self (foreign) cells. This allows it to attack infectious particles and destroy them before they invade our body and make us sick. However, this can also be a problem when people get transplants because the body identifies the new organ as 'foreign' and rejects it.

The body can be "sick" in many ways, from mechanical damage (breaking a bone), vitamin or mineral deficiency, organ degradation, genetic disease or cancer. Viruses and bacteria can also invade our bodies and cause infections.

When our body is invaded, the immune system responds by destroying these organisms. It does this through the lymphatic system, as well as special cells like B and T cells that are specific to each pathogen. The body can also develop immunity to different illnesses; the immune response the second time of infection is much quicker and stronger, protecting the body from the symptoms.

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