Immune system

Function: The function of the immune system is to keep you alive and healthy, it attacks unknown cells in your body that could harm you, cancer cells for example.

Organs: The immune system has two different types of organs, the primary organs which are the thymus and bone marrow. As well as the secondary organs which include lymph nodes, spleen, tonsils and adenoids, peyer's patches,skin and the appendix. The function of the thymus is to receive immature T cells that are produced in the red bone marrow and train them into functional, mature T cells that attack foreign cells. The function of the bone marrow is to produce all of the cells in the immune system. The lymph nodes separate out the lymphatic fluid , which is the store specific cellular material that will capture most cancers cells or bacterias which are travelling throughout the human body within the lymph fluid. The spleen acts as a filter for blood. Old red blood cells are recycled in the spleen, and platelets and white blood cells are stored there. The spleen also helps fight certain kinds of bacteria. The adenoids and tonsils have comparable purpose, (that's why I put them together) trapping viruses and bacteria, but they're entirely independent immune organs even though they are close together and have the same purpose. The peyer's patches have an important job as they monitor intestinal bacteria populations and prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the intestines. Although being called a 'useless' organ the appendix actually helps your body a lot. It is full of bacteria necessary to digest food. As well as if your body is under attack and important kinds of bacteria are purged or killed off, the appendix can act as a reserve for good bacteria So once your immune system beats the disease, the appendix restores the body with the good bacteria it needs. The skin is one of the most important parts of the body because it interfaces with the environment, and is the first line of defense from external factors.

Interactions: The immune system works with a couple systems.The circulatory system consists of the blood vessels and heart but is also a major pathway used by immune cells to travel through the body. The digestive system is also important to the immune system because the tonsils and appendix are at locations where the body deciphers which foreign substances are food and which are microorganisms that can cause disease, helping to create normal immune function.


Analogy:


A person's immune system is like a library that contains information about every germ ever defeated. If the person encounters the real disease-causing germ in the future, their immune system will know how to defeat it, often before the person experiences any symptoms of illness. This explains why (in most cases) you only catch diseases such as chicken pox and rubella (German measles) once, even though exposure to the viruses may be repeated throughout life.

Structure and Function: Skin is designed the way it is so it can be the first protector to outside objects. Skin is a pretty thick material so that only deep/major injuries to the outside of your body can actually affect your insides. There is a lot to go from your skin to one of your organs. Also skin is pretty rough and only sharp or getting in contact hard can actually make it bleed. It also had a low pH to stop bacteria from infecting skin.


Links: http://www.biology4kids.com/files/systems_immune.html, http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/immune.html, http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/immunity/immune-detail.html, http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/ismovie.html