Page 59 - The Miracle of the Immune System

57
Cells on Duty in the System

debris, available antigens, and even old white blood cells. These defence
cells are the real eater cells, — the macrophages, a type of phagocyte.

The First Aid Forces: The Macrophages

When the war becomes intense, the macrophages swing into action.
Macrophages operate in a specific manner exclusive to themselves. They
do not become involved in a one-to-one combat like the antibodies. Un-
like the antibodies, they do not work with a system similar to a bomb
aimed at a single target. Just like a gun firing lead shot, or a bomb that can
be aimed at many targets together, the macrophages can destroy a great
number of enemies together, all at the same time.
Like all other defence cells, the macrophages are also derived from
the bone marrow. The macrophages, which have a very long life span, can

live for months, and even years. Despite their small size (10-15 microme-
ters), they are highly crucial for human life. They possess the ability to ab-
sorb and digest big molecules in the cell through phagocytosis (ingestion).
Their characteristic of ingestion makes them the scavengers of the
defence system. They remove all materials that need to be cleaned up,
such as micro-organisms, antigen-antibody complexes, and other sub-
stances similar in structure to an antigen. At the end of these processes,
substances that would be qualified as antigens are digested, and thus

pose no further threat to the organism.

General Alarm
When a country is involved in war, a general mobilization is de-
clared. Most of the natural resources and the budget are expended on mil-
itary requirements. The economy is re-arranged to meet the needs of this
extraordinary situation and the country is involved in an all-out war ef-

fort. Similarly, the defence system would also announce mass mobiliza-
tion, recruiting all of its elements to fight the enemy. Do you wonder how
this happens?