Your body has evolved an exquisite immune system to take down any threat it encounters. This system is made of up two arms: Innate immunity: like a town’s police force: It responds to all threats regardless of their type (non-specific). When it finds a threat, it immediately responds with all its might to eliminate it.…
Antibodies, or immunoglobulins, are Y-shaped proteins that are used to identify pathogens in your body for destruction by your white blood cells and immune system. Antibodies are made by your B cells come in a variety of types: IgA – can be found in your gut, tears, saliva, and lung. IgD – found on the surface of…
Your spleen is an often overlooked organ that serves as important accessory function for your immune system. It acts as a big filtration system for your blood and lymph. The spleen is brownish in color and is located in the upper left side of your body (under the rib cage). It receives both blood from the circulation…
You have probably heard of your circulatory system, the series of vessels and arteries used to transport blood full of oxygen and nutrients around your body. What you may not know is that there is a second part to this system called the lymphatic circulation. Your lymphatic system serves many important functions: Absorb excess fluid…
Your body has a whole host of white blood cells at its disposal to protect itself from foreign invaders but none are more specialized then lymphocytes. Your lymphocytes make up an arm of your immune system known as adaptive immunity. Compared to your innate immunity, this arm of your immune system can learn and adapt to…
Your body has a defence system in place to protect it from foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses and parasites. This exquisite system has many working parts involving many organs throughout the body but the soldiers of this defence system are your white blood cells (WBC). There are a number of different types of WBC that…
Red blood cells (RBC), or erythrocytes, are the most common type of cell in your blood. Their main job is to transport oxygen to your tissues. This oxygen is transported using a protein called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is what gives blood its red colour. Without haemoglobin, blood with be a light straw colour. Contrary to what…
Your large intestine, or colon, is the final stop in your digestive system for your food. It is a wider tube than the small intestine totalling about 1.5 metres in length. It has smooth muscle surrounding it to help propel the waste through the tube. Your large intestine is broken down into 5 main sections: ascending, transverse,…
Your small intestine is a long coiled tube located just below your stomach. It is the longest part of your digestive tract, totalling around 6.9 metres (22 feet) in length. This tremendous amount of tissue is needed to digest and absorb the nutrients from you food. Your small intestine is made up of 3 parts:…
Your pancreas is a small organ located behind the stomach, nuzzled up to your small intestine. It is a very important organ in digestion as it secretes pancreatic juices that are needed for the digestion and absorption of nutrients. These enzymes are drained into ducts within the pancreas and released into the small intestine to…
Science Translation 