Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Objective 34 & 37: Lymphatic and Immune system

Objective 34: Discuss the components and functions of the lymphatic and immune system
Objective 37: Compare the structure and function of the primary and secondary lymphatic organs and tissues

I found this diagram from Cornell University's website under the Biology section discussing the Lymphatic System. It is an awesome photo that summarizes the primary and secondary lymphatic organs and then summarizes the function or role that they play in the lymphatic and immune system. This picture was very helpful to me because the diagram only includes the components of the lymphatic and immune system, so it's not jumbled up with other veins, arteries, or organs in the body. When the chart is simple like this, it is easier for me to understand because it is overwhelming to see so much information at one time. I never really paid too much attention to how important the lymphatic and immune system was, since they are usually overlooked when thinking about major systems of the body. But without this important system, our cardiovascular system would stop working and our immune system would be very much impaired! When my mother was diagnosed with her rare disease Wegener's granulomatosis (that i mentioned on a previous slide), she had to take a lot of medication to be able to get herself in remission and her immune system was extremely damaged. I'm not exactly sure if it was the drugs she had to take, the disease itself, or maybe even both that caused the immune system to become almost useless. My mother could not be around anyone who was remotely sick, even anyone with a common cold, because she would catch the sickness ten times worse and they could result to pneumonia quick. I never thought too much about the lymphatic and immune system until my mother became sick, and now I have a better appreciation for what these two systems do for my body on a daily basis.



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