Lymph Drainage and the Immune System
The immune system is the system that protects the body from substances that are foreign or interpreted as such (antigens).
The lymphoid organs are those that are responsible for the immune response. There are primary and secondary lymphoid organs.
Using lymph drainage therapy boosts the overall effectiveness of the immune system, by using techniques that help send the immune system cells to do their job.(Above: T cells attacking an antigen invader)
Lymphocytes are the cells responsible for the immune response. There are T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes and macrophages.
The primary lymphoid organs are the bone marrow, and the thymus.
The bone marrow helps the B cells mature, and the thymus is where T cells mature.
The secondary lymphoid organs have a large number of lymphocytes that have migrated from the bone marrow and thymus. They include: lymph nodes, spleen, the appendix, the tonsils, the adenoids, Peyer’s Patches ( located in the small intestine).
The roles of the B cells, T Cells and Macrophages:
B cells mature in the bone marrow and produce antibodies and are responsible for circulating the immune response.
When an invader ( antigen) enters and circulates through the body, B cells protect the body and respond by producing specific antibodies from modified B cells called plasma cells . A specific “memory” for this invader stays in the body from 6-20 years after the first contact. The body has a cellular memory and remembers..
T cells come from the thymus, and are responsible for the cellular immune response.When the invader antigen enters affected cells, the T cells activate to specifically destroy the foreign invader. T cells stay about 30 minutes in the blood circulation, 6 hours in the spleen and 20 hours in the lymphatic system.
Macrophages produce a nonspecific immune response to an antigen. They manage the defense of body tissues. Contrary to the B and T cells which have specific immune response, the macrophages attack any foreign agent considered an invader to the body without discrimination and without cellular memory.