T HE I MMUNE S YSTEM

Cast of Characters Peasants… Watchman… Foot Soldiers… Green Berets… Navy Seals… Enemy… Skin, hair, mucus Histamine White Blood Cells B Cells T Cells Bacteria, Virus, Parasite

ACT I The Enemy Arrives

A Pretty Day in the Field… Until the ENEMY arrives. A Pathogen (disease causing agent) enters in through the nose, where it will meet it’s first battle.

First Line of Defense Peasants working in the field try their best to hold off the enemy Hair: will work to trap the invader and push it out of the body Mucus: will work to trap invader

Sends Out a Warning to the Rest of the City The city guard sends out a warning to the rest of the city Histamine: causes swelling, redness, pain, and heat

ACT II Help Arrives

We need Back-Up! Foot Soldiers arrive to give back up as the enemy begins to multiply. White Blood Cells: surrounds invader and engulfs it trying to prevent the bacteria from invading more cells

ACT III Special Forces Arrive

Send in the Specialized Forces Green Berets arrive to use specialized information to attack the enemy. B cells: release ANTIBODIES Proteins that recognize bacteria and viruses

More Forces! Navy Seals arrive to bring their own set of specialized information T Cells: – Killer T Cells: eats bacteria or viruses – Helper T Cells: creates memory of bacteria or virus

ACT IV Battle Continues

Will It Ever End??? More soldiers, more green berets, more navy seals! White blood cells, B cells, and T cells continue to attack the bacteria.

ACT V Resolution

Possible Outcomes Good guys win… Health Bad guys win… Death Chronic Illness… the Battle Continues

The End