Basic Immunobiology: A Primer

This chapter is intended for those readers whose primary field of interest is not immunology, and for whom some degree of orientation in the basic structure and function of the immune system would be useful. A comprehensive discussion of the immune system is beyond the scope of this book; for that purpose the reader is referred to any of a number of current excellent textbooks and reviews in immunology, such as Paul’s Fundamental Immunology or various volumes of Annual Reviews of Immunology. However, for purposes of orientation to those aspects of immunity most relevant to understanding the immunobiology of killer lymphocytes, we offer the following greatly simplified summary. Many of the topics that follow will be dealt with in more detail throughout this book.