Defense mechanisms of foreign or injurious agents

Question

Name the two groups of defense mechanisms of the body against foreign or injurious agents? Explain the difference among them?

Answer 1

The body has lots of defense mechanisms against foreign pathogenic agents. Such mechanisms are classified into two classes: the specific mechanisms and unspecific mechanisms. The specific mechanisms are portion of the immune system and comprehend the humoral immune response and the cellular immune response which correspondingly generate antibodies and defense cells against particular antigens. The unspecific mechanisms fight in a general way any kind of antigen (they do not contain specificity) and in them a sequence of defense means are comprised, such as the skin barrier against foreign agents, the mucous and ciliated epithelium of airway, inflammation (that is, the inflammatory response) and the action of unspecific proteins and defense cells (example: macrophages and interferons).