The immune system summarised

What is the immune system?

Broadly speaking, the immune system can be broken down into 2 categories

• The adaptive immune system
• The innate immune system

The adaptive immune system

The adaptive immune system is made up of:

• Lymphocytes (cytotoxic T-cells, T-helper cells, gamma-delta T-cells)
• B-cells
• Antibodies.

The innate immune system

The innate immune system includes:

• Physical barriers (skin, mucous membranes, tears, saliva, stomach acid)
• Phagocytes and cell that release inflammatory cytokines (natural killer cells, monocytes, macrophage, mast cells)
• Complement.