How the Immune System Works (The How it Works Series) 6th Edition

Pdf Book Name: How the Immune System Works The How it Works Series 6th Edition
Author: Lauren M. Sompayrac
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN-10, 13: 111954212X,978-1119542124
Year: 2019
Pages: 176 pages
Language: English
File size: 13 MB
File format: PDF,EPUB

How the Immune System Works (The How it Works Series) 6th Edition Pdf Book Description:

Immunology is a difficult subject for several reasons. First, there are lots of details, and sometimes these details get in the way of understanding the concepts. To get around this problem, we’re going to concentrate on the big picture. It will be easy for you to fi nd the details somewhere else. Another difficulty in learning immunology is that there is an exception to every rule. Immunologists love these exceptions, because they give clues as to how the immune system functions. But for now, we’re just going to learn the rules. Oh sure, we’ll come upon exceptions from time to time, but we won’t dwell on them. Our goal is to examine the immune system, stripped to its essence. A third difficulty in studying immunology is that our knowledge of the immune system is still evolving. As you’ll see, there are many unanswered questions, and some of the things that seem true today will be proven false tomorrow. I’ll try to give you a feeling for the way things stand now, and from time to time I’ll discuss what immunologists speculate may be true. But keep in mind that although I’ll try to be straight with you, some of the things I’ll tell you will change in the future maybe even by the time you read this!

Although these three features make studying immunology difficult, I think the main reason immunology is such a tough subject is that the immune system is a “team effort” that involves many different players interacting with each other. Imagine you’re watching a football game on TV, and the camera is isolated on one player, say, the tight end. You see him run at full speed down the field, and then stop. It doesn’t seem to make any sense. Later, however, you see the same play on the big screen, and now you understand. That tight end took two defenders with him down the field, leaving the running back uncovered to catch the pass and run for a touchdown. The immune system is a lot like a football team. It’s a network of players who cooperate to get things done, and focusing on a single player doesn’t make much sense. You need an overall view. That’s the purpose of this first lecture, which you might call “turbo immunology.” Here, I’m going to take you on a quick tour of the immune system, so you can get a feeling for how it all fits together. Then in the next lectures, we’ll go back and take a closer look at the individual players and their interactions.