The immune system is comprised
of specialized white blood cells, called lymphocytes
that adapt themselves to fight specific foreign
invaders. These cells develop into two groups
in the bone marrow. From the bone marrow, one
group of lymphocytes migrates to a gland called
the thymus and become T lymphocytes or T cells.
Within the thymus, the T cells mature under the
influence of several hormones. The T cells mature
into several different types, including helper,
killer and suppressor cells.
When matured, the
T cell types are ready to work together to
directly attack foreign invaders, providing what
physicians call cell-mediated immunity. This
type of immunity can become deficient in persons
with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, because
HIV attacks and destroys helper T cells. The
other group of lymphocytes, B lymphocytes or
B cells, mature and develop within the bone marrow
itself. In that process, they achieve the ability
to recognize specific foreign invaders.
From
the bone marrow, B cells migrate through the
body fluids to the lymph nodes, spleen and
blood. B lymphocytes provide the body with humoral
immunity as they circulate in the fluids in search
of specific foreign invaders to destroy.
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