The immune system: basis of so much health and disease: 1. overview of immunity and the immune system Crispian Scully Eleni A Georgakopoulou Yazan Hassona Dental Update 2024 44:2, 707-709.
The immune system is the body's primary defence mechanism against infections, and disturbances in the system can cause disease if the system fails in defence functions (in immunocompromised people), or if the activity is detrimental to the host (as in auto-immune and auto-inflammatory states). A healthy immune system is also essential to normal health of dental and oral tissues. This series presents the basics for the understanding of the immune system, this article covering an overview of immunity and the immune system.
Clinical Relevance: Modern dental clinicians need a basic understanding of the immune system as it underlies health and disease.
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We inhabit a world dominated by microbes and toxins, many of which can cause harm to humans (ie they are pathogens). Some pathogens are exogenous but others, such as some bacteria, viruses, and fungi, share their lives with us (ie they are commensals or endogenous), often usually in harmony though, under certain conditions, some may become opportunistic pathogens. Humans are colonized, for example, by over 1,000 different types of micro-organisms. Immunity is the state of having sufficient biological defences to avoid infections (Figure 1).
The immune system – the body's primary defence mechanism against diseases caused by pathogens – is made up of various interacting cells (sometimes termed immunocytes), soluble substances, and proteins designed to identify and destroy pathogens.
The main primary organs of the immune system are lymphoid – the thymus and bone marrow (Figure 2) and secondary tissues such as spleen, tonsils, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, adenoids, skin and liver (‘lymphoreticular system’) (Figure 3).
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