Page 58 - The Miracle in the Immune System
P. 58
56 THE MIRACLE OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Immune cells (T lymphocytes) trained in the thymus.
theory for the same organ. They claimed that the thy-
mus did not exist before, and originated through gradu-
al evolution. They still maintain that the thymus formed
in a longer evolutionary period than many organs. How-
ever, without the thymus, or without its being fully de-
veloped, T cells could not have learned to identify the
enemy and the defence system would not have func-
tioned. Someone without such a system would not sur-
vive. Even your reading this sentence now is proof that
the thymus was not created through a long evolutiona-
ry process, but has always existed, perfect and intact in
all respects, since the advent of the first human being.
A Versatile Organ: The Spleen
Another wondrous element of our defence system
is the spleen. The spleen is made up of two parts: red
pulp and white pulp. The fresh lymphocytes produced in
