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A representation of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century. For thousands of years mankind has been intrigued with the causes of disease and the concept of immunity. The prehistoric view was that disease was caused by supernatural forces, and that illness was a form of theurgic punishment for "bad deeds" or "evil thoughts" visited upon the soul by the gods or by one's enemies. [8]
The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens , from viruses to bacteria , as well as cancer cells , parasitic worms , and also objects such as wood splinters , distinguishing them from the organism's own healthy tissue .
An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellular bacteria, protozoa, helminths, and fungi which could cause serious problems to the health of the host organism if not cleared from the body.
“The body aches related to an infection such as pharyngitis (sore throat) or flu are related to the immune system’s response to the infection,” says Stephen Parodi, M.D., infectious disease ...
Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids. [3] Autoimmunity means presence of antibodies or T cells that react with self-protein and is present in all individuals, even in normal health state. It causes autoimmune diseases if self-reactivity can lead to tissue damage. [4]
Infectious disease – illness or disorder when pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites invade and multiply within the body of a host organism and release toxins, causing various clinical symptoms which can potentially lead to severe health complications or even death. Infectious diseases can ...
Primary pathogens cause disease as a result of their presence or activity within the normal, healthy host, and their intrinsic virulence (the severity of the disease they cause) is, in part, a necessary consequence of their need to reproduce and spread. Many of the most common primary pathogens of humans only infect humans, however, many ...
Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine [1] that covers the study of immune systems [2] in all organisms.. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (such as autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, [3] immune deficiency, [4] and ...