Page 92 - The Miracle of the Immune System

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THE MIRACLE OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

After the victory is won, suppressor T cells stop the war. Although
the war is over, it is never to be forgotten. Memory cells have stored the
enemy in their memory. Staying in the body for years, these cells help the
defence to be faster and more effective if the same enemy is encountered
again.
The heroes of this war have not received any military training.
The heroes of this war are not human beings able to reason.
The heroes of this war are cells so minuscule as to hardly cover a full
stop when they come together in millions.
Moreover, this amazing army does not engage in fighting alone. It
manufactures all the weapons it will use during the war; it makes all war

plans and strategies itself, and cleans up the battleground after the war. If
all these processes were left in the control of man, and not cells, would we
ever be able to handle such a feat of organization?

Millions of lymphocytes
circulating within our
bloodstream are charged
with the responsibility of
destroying harmful or-
ganisms contained in the
human body. In these pic-
tures, you can see a killer
T cell (orange) attacking a
cancer cell. The T cell de-
stroys the protective
membrane of the cancer
cell with the help of its
caustic enzymes and de-
stroys the cell. At the end
of the attack the only
thing that remains is the
large, round, almost
naked nucleus of the can-
cer cell. (large picture)