NIE: HealthRocks

Have you ever wondered why you get sick? Or have you ever stayed healthy while people around you were sick? Thank your immune and lymphatic systems. They work as a team to protect you from infections and disease. Your immune system functions to protect your body from infections, and your lymphatic system moves fluid through the body and further helps your immune system. Together, these systems, which also incorporate your skin, organs and certain cells, work as your “team of defenders.” The Lines of Defense The skin is your body’s first line of defense against invasive bacteria. The skin is a passive barrier that repels most bacteria from entering your insides. Next are the mucous membranes found in your mouth, nose, throat, lungs and bowels. If bacteria or viruses enter one of these parts of your body, the mucous membrane lines of tissue are usually able to trap and break them down. The saliva in your mouth and mucus in your nose are a few of the mucous membranes you can see. If bacteria make it past these lines of defense, your insides have to team up to defend your body further. Lymph Nodes and Tissue By filtering out toxins, the lymphatic system defends against infections and helps keep bodily fluid levels in balance. The lymphatic drainage system removes toxins, wastes, excess fluids and infection from body tissues. There are several parts of your body at which most of the filtering takes place: the tonsils, lymph nodes, bone marrow, thymus gland and spleen. Tonsils Your tonsils are masses of lymph tissue found in the back of your throat, the back of your tongue and behind your nose. The tonsils both filter and trap bacteria like mucous membranes and also produce antibodies to fight infections. Have you heard of someone needing to get their tonsils out? Tonsils can get infected with bacteria. If infections happen a lot, doctors often recommend the tonsils be surgically removed. Lymph Nodes Have you ever had a sore throat? The pain and swelling are signs that your immune and lymphatic systems are working. The parts that can feel like bumps inside your neck are your lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are round or kidney- shaped one-inch clusters of cells filled with lymph fluid. They are found in your neck, armpits, groin and elsewhere in the body. Lymph fluid is a clear liquid similar to plasma, the clear liquid in blood. Leukocytes Instead of carrying the red blood cells found in plasma, lymph fluid carries white bloods cells called leukocytes. The leukocytes move through your body picking up other white blood cells and bringing them to nodes where they are needed to filter blood to remove bacteria. Macrophages Macrophages are one type of leukocyte, called “big eaters,” that swallow up foreign bodies by releasing toxic chemicals. Macrophages are extremely powerful because they not only kill bacteria, but signal to other cells to mount a response. By patrolling the body in this way, macrophages find harmful invaders before they can cause further damage. Some macrophages even clean up white cells that have been damaged. After macrophages fight off bacteria and remove them from the bloodstream, the filtered lymph fluid leaves the lymph nodes and returns to the veins to reenter the bloodstream. FUN FACT After an insect bite, you observe a red, itchy bump on your skin. This is a sign that your immune system is at work, acting against the foreign substances that have entered through saliva of the insect. Thymus Spleen Tonsils Bone Marrow Lymphocytes: B & T Cells Leukocytes & Macrophages Lymph Node s Staying Healthy is a Team Effort.