Immunology is a subject many find
mind-boggling and difficult to comprehend. The purpose of this tutorial is to
provide a way through this confusion. It is not a comprehensive study, the
immune system is a topic far too extensive for that. However the aim is to
cover the basics and provide a framework that makes the assimilation of details
and more extensive knowledge easier.
The most common reasons for difficulty with
understanding the immune system are its complexity and terminology. No single
aspect of the immune system is in itself particularly complicated but as all of
the aspects impact on others it becomes much more difficult. It is very often a
case of not being able to see the wood for the trees. This tutorial is designed
with a stepwise approach that explains how each major component works and how
it interacts with other components of the immune system.
The problem of terminology stems from the fact
that many synonymous and almost-synonymous terms are used in immunology. For
example the cells that are primarily responsible for fighting viral infection
are T-lymphocytes. More specifically they are a sub group of T-lymphocytes
named Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are also referred
to as CD8 cells, CD8+ cells, Killer T Cells, Killer T Lymphocytes, Tc
cells etc. All of these terms are synonymous: one cell - at least five names.
This tutorial is designed as a series of 9 sections
in order, with later sections building on earlier ones. However the reader
may wish to skip over some sections and to return to others. The panel on
the left provides links to each section and where a section is referred to
in the text of another, a hyperlink is included. There are also a series of
extra sections which do no constitute the basics but may be of interest.