The Lymphatic and Immune

Systems
PowerPoint® presentation to accompany:

Medical Assisting
Third Edition

Booth, Whicker, Wyman, Pugh, Thompson

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Learning Outcomes
32.1 List the pathways and organs of the lymphatic system
and give their locations.

31.2 Define lymph and tell how it is circulated in the body.

31.3 Define the terms infection, pathogen, and antigen.

31.4 List and describe the nonspecific body defense

mechanisms.

31. 5 Explain the signs and causes of inflammation.

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Learning Outcomes (cont.)

32.6 Explain what is meant by body defenses.

32.7 Define B cells and T cells and describe their locations

and functions.

32.8 Explain the importance of MHC proteins.

32.9 List the different types of T cells and describe their

functions.

32.10 Explain how antibodies fight infection.

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Learning Outcomes (cont.)

32.11 List the different types of antibodies and tell how they
differ.

32.12 Define complement proteins and give their function.

32.13 Explain the difference between the primary immune

response and secondary immune response.

32.14 Explain the four different types of acquired immunities.

32.15 Describe the function of a vaccine.

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Learning Outcomes (cont.)

32.16 Define the terms cancer and carcinogen.

32.17 Describe how cancers are diagnosed and treated.

32. 18 Explain how cancers are classified.

32.19 Describe how allergies develop.

32.20 Describe the causes, signs and symptoms, and

treatments of other common immune disorders.

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Introduction
 Immune system  Lymphatic system
 Protects the body  Works with immune
against system to remove
 Bacteria disease-causing agents
 Viruses  Organs
 Fungi  Thymus
 Toxins  Spleen
 Parasites  Lymph nodes
 Cancer

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The Lymphatic System

 Network of connecting vessels
 Collects fluid (lymph) between cells and returns
it to bloodstream

 Picks up lipids from digestive organs and

transports them to blood stream

 Functions to defend the body against pathogens

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Lymphatic System: Pathways

 Lymphatic capillaries
 Extend into interstitial spaces
 Permeable, thin walls pick up fluid, now lymph
 Delivers lymph to lymphatic vessels

 Lymphatic vessels
 Deliver lymph to lymph nodes
 Cells in nodes can remove pathogens from lymph and start an
immune response
Lymph
 Leaves nodes through efferent lymphatic vessels System

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Lymphatic System: Pathways (cont.)

 Lymphatic trunks
 Receive lymph from efferent lymphatic vessels
 Deliver it to
 Lymphatic collecting ducts
 Thoracic duct
 Left side of head and neck, left arm, left side of thorax, entire
abdominopelvic area, and both legs
 Right lymphatic duct
Lymph  Right side of head and neck, right arm, and right side of chest
System

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Lymphatic System:
Tissue Fluid and Lymph
 Interstitial fluid
 Fluid in spaces between cells that has leaked
from blood capillaries and has not been picked
up by body cells
 High in nutrients, oxygen, and small proteins
 Becomes lymph
 Pushed through lymphatic vessels by squeezing action
of neighboring skeletal muscles and breathing
movement

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Back

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Lymphatic System: Nodes

 Small, glandular
structures

 Located along paths of

larger lymphatic vessels
 Afferent lymphatic vessels
– Lymph to node
 Efferent lymphatic vessels
– Lymph from node

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Lymphatic System: Nodes (cont.)

 More lymph enters than can
leave at one time

 Cells in nodes
 Macrophages – digest unwanted
pathogens
 Lymphocytes – start an immune
response against pathogen

 Nodes can generate some

lymphocytes
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Lymphatic System:
The Thymus and Spleen
 Thymus
 Soft, bi-lobed organ
 Located just above the heart in the mediastinum
 Large in children, shrinks as we age
 Functions
 Same as lymph nodes
 Also produces lymphocytes
 Produces thymosin – stimulates production of lymphocytes

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Lymphatic System:
The Thymus and Spleen (cont.)
 Spleen
 Largest lymphatic organ
 Located in the upper left quadrant of abdominal cavity
 Functions
 Filters blood similarly to lymph nodes
 Removes worn-out red cells
 If removed (splenectomy), liver takes over most of its
function

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Apply Your Knowledge

What are the lymphatic collecting ducts and what
area do they drain?
ANSWER: The collecting ducts are:
Thoracic duct, which drains the left side of the head and
neck, left arm, left side of thorax, entire abdominopelvic
area, and both legs; and the right lymphatic duct, which
drains the right side of the head and neck, right arm,
and right side of the chest.

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Defenses Against Disease
 Infection
 The presence of a
pathogen in or on the
body
 Pathogen
 A disease-causing agent
 Innate immunity
 Nonspecific defenses to
protect against
pathogens
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 Nonspecific defenses
 Species resistance
 Mechanical barriers
 Chemical barriers
 Phagocytosis
 Fever
 Inflammation
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Defenses Against Disease:
Specific Defenses
 Immunities
 Protect against very
specific pathogens
 Antigens
 Foreign substances in the
body
 Haptens
 Foreign substances too
small to start an immune
response by themselves
32-18
 Other substances
 Proteins – antibodies and
complements
 WBCs – lymphocytes and
macrophages
 Lymph system
 Cytokines – assist in
immune response regulation
 Monokines – increase B cell
production and stimulate
WBC production
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Defenses Against Disease (cont.)

Two major types of lymphocytes
B Cells and T Cells
Response

Recognize antigens in the body

B cells
 Respond to antigens by
becoming plasma cells
 Plasma cells make antibodies
 Memory B cells produce
stronger response with next
exposure to antigen
T Cells
 Cell-mediated response
 Bind to antigens on cells
and attack them directly
 Secrete lymphokines that
increase T cell production and
directly kill cells with antigens

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Defenses Against Disease (cont.)

 T cell activation
 Begins when macrophage ingests and digests
pathogen with antigen on it
 Antigens are placed on cell membrane of
macrophage
 T cell recognizes and binds to antigen and the
major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the
surface of the macrophage
 Now can divide to form other types of T cells

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Defenses Against Disease (cont.)

 Types
 Cytotoxic T cells
 Protect body against viruses and cancer cells
 Helper T cells
 Increase antibody formation, memory cell formation,
B cell formation, and phagocytosis
 Memory T cells
 Remember the pathogen that activated original T cell
 Later exposures trigger an immune response more
effective than initial response

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Defenses Against Disease (cont.)

 Natural killer (NK) cells
 Type of lymphocyte
 Primarily target cancer cells
 Kill on contact
 Do not recognize a specific
antigen

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Apply Your Knowledge

ANSWER:
Identify whether each item refers to T cells, B cells, or NK cells:
___
NK Primarily target cancer cells
Right on
___
B Respond to antigens by becoming plasma cells
___
T Must be activated to respond to an antigen
Target!
___
T Bind to antigens on cells and attack them directly

___
NK Kill on contact
T Need macrophages and MHC for activation
___
___
B Make antibodies against specific antigen

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Antibodies
 Also called immunoglobulins
 IgA
 Prevents pathogens from entering body
 IgD
 Found on B cell membranes
 Thought to control B cell activity
 IgE
 Found with IgA
 Involved in triggering allergic reactions
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Antibodies (cont.)
 IgG
 Recognizes bacteria, viruses, and toxins
 Activates complements

 IgM
 Large and binds to antigens on food, bacteria, or
incompatible blood cells
 Activates compliments

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Antibodies (cont.)
 Actions that occur when antibodies bind to antigens
 Allow phagocytes to recognize and destroy antigens
 Cause antigens to clump together, causing them to be
destroyed by macrophages
 Cover the toxic portions of antigens, making them harmless
 Activate complement
 Group of proteins in serum that attack pathogens by forming holes
in them
 Attract macrophages to pathogens and can stimulate inflammation

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Apply Your Knowledge

What are the possible actions that occur when
antibodies bind to antigens?
ANSWER: Possible actions include:
 They allow phagocytes to recognize and destroy antigens.
 They make antigens clump together, causing them to be
destroyed by macrophages.
 They cover the toxic portions of antigens to make them
harmless.
 They activate complements.

Very Good!
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Immune Responses and

Acquired Immunity
 Primary immune response occurs with first
exposure to antigen
 Slow process
 Memory cells are formed

 Secondary immune response with next exposure to

same antigen
 Quick and carried out by memory cells
 Usually prevents person from developing disease from
the antigen

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Immune Responses and

Acquired Immunity (cont.)
 Naturally acquired active immunity
 Natural exposure to antigen – having an illness
 Makes antibodies and memory cells
 Long-lasting

 Artificially acquired active immunity

 Injected with pathogen – immunizations
 Makes antibodies and memory cells
 Long-lasting

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Immune Responses and

Acquired Immunity (cont.)
 Naturally acquired passive immunity
 Acquired from mother
 Breast milk
 Placenta
 Short-lived

 Artificially acquired passive immunity

 Injected with antibodies (such as antivenom)
 Short-lived

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Apply Your Knowledge

After you give an immunization to a 2-year-old, her
mother asks you why this will work to prevent her
from getting a disease.
ANSWER: Immunization is an artificially acquired
immunity because a person develops this immunity
by being injected with a pathogen and then making
antibodies and memory cells against the pathogen.

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Major Immune System Disorders

 Cancer
 Uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells form malignant
tumors
 200 known types
 Treatment based on stage
0 – very early; cancer cells localized
I – spread to deeper layers or some in surrounding tissues
II – spread to surrounding tissues but contained in primary site
III – spread beyond primary site into nearby areas
IV – spread to other organs
Recurrent – reappeared after treatment

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Major Immune System

Disorders (cont.)
 Allergies
 Immune response to an allergen
 Can be excessive
 IgE antibodies bind to allergens and stimulate mast cells
to release histamine and heparin
 Triggers allergic response
 Allergy shots
 Small amounts of allergen stimulates production of IgG to
prevent IgE from binding to antigen
 IgG antibodies do not stimulate mast cells, so immune response
is not generated

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Major Immune System

Disorders (cont.)
 Signs/symptoms
 Inhaled allergens – runny nose, sneezing, coughing, wheezing
 Ingested allergens – nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
 Skin allergens – rashes
 Allergens in blood – most life-threatening; can affect many
organs
 Treatment
 Antihistamines, decongestants – OTC or prescription
 Epinephrine for anaphylaxis – vasoconstriction, increasing BP
 Anaphylaxis – life-threatening response

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Common Immune System Disorders

 Autoimmune disease
 Body attacks its own antigens
 Examples
 Scleroderma
 Rheumatoid arthritis
 Multiple sclerosis
 Glomerulonephritis
 Chron’s disease
 Diabetes mellitus, type I

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Common Immune System

Disorders (cont.)
Disorder Description
AIDS Development of severe signs and symptoms
caused by HIV as it destroys lymphocytes;
leaves immune system weakened and
susceptible to other diseases
Chronic fatigue Condition of severe tiredness not relieved by
syndrome (CFS) rest and not related to other illnesses
Lymphedema Blockage of lymphatic vessels results in tissue
swelling that increases over time

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Common IS Disorders (cont.)

Disorder Description
Mononucleosis “Mono”; highly contagious viral infection
spread through saliva of infected person
Systemic lupus Autoimmune disorder; antibodies produces that
erythematous target own cells and tissues; affects women
(SLE) more often than men

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Apply Your Knowledge

Matching:
ANSWER:

G Immune response to a substance

___ A. CFS

___
E Blockage of lymphatic vessels B. SLE

___
F “Kissing disease” C. Cancer

___
B “Butterfly” rash on face D. Autoimmune disease
A Severe tiredness
___ E. Lymphedema
C Uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells
___ F. Mononucleosis

___
D Body attack its own antigens G. Allergy

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In Summary
 Immune system is the body’s major line of defense
 Primary function – protect against infection, toxins, and
cancer
 Specific or nonspecific defenses
 Lymphocytes are major cells of immune system
 Immune response may be primary or secondary
 Medical assistant must understand immune system
 Aseptic technique
 Infection control
 Educate patients

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End of Chapter

Thought is an
infection. In the
case of certain
thoughts, it
becomes an
epidemic.
~Wallace Stevens
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved