Immune System Health Article

KEY TERMS

Antibodies (immunoglobulins)—Proteins that bind to their corresponding specific antigen.

Antigen—A material that gives rise to an immune response.

Autoimmune disease—An immune response that occurs when the immune system begins to attack the body or self.

B lymphocyte—A lymphocyte that contains an immunoglobulin on the surface (the B-cell receptor). B cells mature in the bone marrow.

Effector cells—Mature lymphocytes that assist in the removal of pathogens from the system and do not require further differentiation to perform this function.

Hypersensitivity—An immune reaction that results from an immune mediated inflammatory response to an antigen that would normally be innocuous.

Macrophages—Cells that are capable of ingesting microorganisms by phagocytosis and have a critical role in the host defense to pathogens.

Pathogen—A microorganism that has the potential to cause a disease.

T cytotoxic cells (Tc)—T lymphocytes that kill abnormal cells.

T helper cells (Th)—T lymphocytes that enhance an immune response.

T lymphocyte—A lymphocyte that matures in the thymus and has receptors related to CD3 complex proteins.

T suppressor cells (Ts)—T lymphocytes that diminish the immune response.

BOOKS

Anderson, William L. Immunology. Madison, CT: Fence Creek Publishing, 1999.

Janeway, Charles A., et al. Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease. New York: Elsevier Science London/Garland Publishing, 1999.

Roitt, Ivan, and Arthur Rabson. Really Essential Medical Immunology. Malden: Blackwell Science, 2000.

Sharon, Jacqueline. Basic Immunology. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1998.

Widmann, Frances K., and Carol A. Itatani. An Introduction to Clinical Immunology and Serology. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company, 1998.

Wier, Donald M., and John Stewart. Immunology. New York: Churchchill Linvingstone, Inc., 1997.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Autoimmune Related Disease Association. <http://www.aarda.org>.

OTHER

Mayo Clinic <http://www.mayoclinic.com>.

Med Web, Emory University. <http://www.medweb.emory.edu/MedWeb/>.

Jill Ilene Granger, M.S.