The immune system is composed of biological immunities that helps protect organisms from disease and prevents viral infections. These immunities include macrophages and neutrophils that engulf foreign invaders, antibodies that bond to foreign antigens, and B and T cells that bond to a specific part of an antigen. There are two lines of defenses for the immune system: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. |
|
Innate Immune System
The innate immune system consists of the chemical and outer defenses of the organism (the skin, nose hairs, and mucus) that acts immediately. The skin is a barrier to all other forms of bacteria and viruses outside of the body. Nose hairs block certain antigens and/or pathogens from entering the body.
Mucus traps different types of bacteria that enter the nose, resulting in allergies. Coughing and sneezing are other mechanisms that release these invaders. These defenses are non-specific, meaning that they are generic in their actions and are found in all organisms.
Adaptive Immune System
The adaptive (active) immune system is a more intricate process, and the major immune response in the immune system. Once this defense is activated by the innate defense, it requires time to generate a response to the invading pathogens. While the response adapts to the specific cell formations, their recognition of the invaders becomes quicker. This recognition helps increase response time of the next encounter of the same pathogen. Because of its complexity, the adaptive response is only present in certain types of organisms -vertebrates specifically.
