|
|
Article: Immunity, Cell Mediated
- Article from:
- World of Microbiology and Immunology
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Immunity, cell mediated
The
immune system
is a network of cells and organs that work together to protect the body from infectious organisms. Many different types of organisms such as
bacteria
,
viruses
,
fungi
, and
parasites
are capable of entering the human body and causing disease. It is the immune system's job to recognize these agents as foreign and destroy them.
The immune system can respond to the presence of a foreign agent in one of two ways. It can either produce soluble proteins called antibodies, which can bind to the foreign agent and mark them for destruction by other cells. This type of response is called a humoral response or an
antibody
response. Alternately, ...