Page 67 - The Miracle in the Immune System

Cells On Duty In The System 65

digest all of them, they expand in size. When distended
by the antigens, the cells burst, causing a liquid sub-
stance (pus) to overflow. This does not mean that the
war is lost. So far, the eater cells have just met the mi-
crobes, which have still many tougher barriers to pass.
The formation of pus activates the lymphocytes, which
have been delivered from the bone marrow, the lymph
nodes, and above all, the thymus. In a second wave of
defence, the newly arriving defence cells attack every-
thing they find around, including cell debris, available an-
tigens, 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.
Unlike 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 al-
so 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 pos-
sess the ability to absorb and digest big molecules in the
cell through phagocytosis (ingestion).