Immunology is the study of the immune system and its diseases. The immune system is a network of systems throughout the body, and immunology encompasses everything from blood cells to the skin. Influenza vaccines are an example of immunology in action. Arthritis and asthma are diseases of the immune system caused by the body’s hypersensitivity to certain substances. AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system itself, leaving the body vulnerable to infections. Drug therapies can strengthen the immune system and prolong the life of the AIDS patient, but there is currently no cure.
Immunology is both the study of the human immune system and the field of medicine that treats diseases of the immune system. Immunity is the body’s ability to resist a disease, and the immune system is a network of interacting systems throughout the body: bone marrow, white blood cells, the entire lymphatic system, and even the skin. Immunology dates back to ancient civilizations, as it has long been known that some individuals are naturally immune to some diseases, and that survivors of certain diseases are immune to the disease they survived. Because the immune system is so broad, encompassing everything from blood cells to the skin, immunology is a very broad field of study. The treatment of simple ailments like common allergies and complex ones like AIDS all fall under the category of immunology.
Influenza vaccines are an example of immunology in action. Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) makes a highly educated guess about which of a large number of influenza viruses is likely to be circulating in the next year and formulates the “flu vaccine.” Everyone, especially those with weakened immune systems, are encouraged to get the flu shot, which causes the body to make its own antibodies to fend off those particular flus. If the WHO gets it wrong and we are inundated with flu for which we have not received artificially induced immunity, many people will be affected by the flu.
Arthritis and asthma are diseases of the immune system caused by the body’s hypersensitivity to certain substances. Most of the ailments that immunology addresses are those in which the body’s immune system is insufficient to ward off disease and the immune system needs to be supplemented with outside assistance. One of the most intractable problems in immunology today is a disease that attacks the immune system itself, AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
AIDS leaves the body susceptible to infections that a healthy patient would easily fight off with their own antibodies. Because the immune system protects the entire body, AIDS leaves the entire body vulnerable, and opportunistic infections can attack multiple organs in the body, severely weakening the patient. A variety of drug therapies today can strengthen the immune system and prolong the life of the AIDS patient, but there is currently no cure.
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