By: Lindsey Korthuis, Steven Lenfestey, Nathan Gumminger

Organs in the Immune System  Your skin is your first defense to pathogens acting as a physical barrier.  The organs that make up the immune system are:  Bone marrow  Tonsils  Peyer's patches  Thymus  Lymph nodes  Lymphatic vessels  Spleen  White blood cells called leukocytes are produced or stored in these areas.

How the Leukocytes Work  The leukocytes are split up into two groups: Lymphocytes and Phagocytes  The Lymphocytes recognize the pathogen and help destroy it  The Phagocytes actually go and destroy the recognized pathogen

Function of the Bone Marrow  In the bone marrow there are stem cells which either mature within the marrow or somewhere else in the body.  These cells are used to mature into B-cells, natural killer cells, granulocytes and to just stay as immature thymocytes.  The process to create the cells is called hematopoiesis.

Function of the Tonsils  The tonsils in the back of the throat, under the tongue help filter any bacteria or foreign substance that doesn’t belong.

Function of Peyer’s Patches  The Peyer’s patches are interspersed throughout the digestive system(small intestine and appendix) and help filter out any harmful bacteria or other antigens

Function of the Thymus  The thymus’s job is to mature T-Cells which are a type of lymphocyte.  The immature thymocytes travel to the thymus and are matured there through a process called thymic education.  T-cells that can become harmful to the body and cause autoimmunity are destroyed while good ones are spared.

Function of the Lymph Nodes  The lymph nodes are an immunologic filter that filter the lymph fluid which is also known as bodily fluid.  Lymph nodes are found in various places around the body.  They are made up of T-cells, B- cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells and the nodes empty most of the tissues of their fluid.  They then filter the antigens out of the fluid and circulate the fluid back to the rest of the body.  The macrophages and dendritic cells present their captured antigens to the T-cells and B- cells which triggers an immune response.

Function of the Lymphatic Vessels  The Lymphatic vessels carry the lymph which is drained.  They either carry it to the lymph node to be filtered or carry it away from the lymph node after it’s been filtered to be put back into circulation.

Function of the Spleen  The spleen filters the blood.  It’s composed of T-cells, B-cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and red blood cells.  It captures antigens from the blood.  Like the lymph nodes when the antigens are presented to the T- cells and B-cells the immune response is triggered.  In the spleen the B-cells are set in motion and generate antibodies in large amounts.  Another function of the spleen is to get rid of any old red blood cells. spleen

Interesting Facts  Stress affects the efficiency of the immune system. You can fight off something better if you aren’t stressed.  Your immune system is a three layered system. First is the skin, then the innate immune system which is a “ short term, nonspecific immune response.” Then your lymphocytes and other cells react if needed.

Some Diseases of the Immune System  Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome  An autoimmune disease is an overactive immune response. It attacks its own cells thinking they are pathogens.  Burkitt lymphoma  A cancer of the lymphatic system  Leukemia, chronic myeloid  Cancer of the white blood cells  Immunodeficiency with hyper-IgM  Severe combined immunodeficiency  AIDS is an immune deficiency disease meaning that it weakens the immune system so can not fight off pathogens.  Allergies are an overreaction to allergens that should be ignored.

Vaccines  It is essential to get vaccines for major pathogens such as tuberculosis or hepatitis.  The vaccines are a small weakened version of the pathogen just enough for the immune system to recognize there’s a pathogen in the body.  The immune system can then take action and destroy the pathogen building an immunity to that specific pathogen.

Bibliography               i/Spleen    