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)
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