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The Immune System — A Short Introduction to its Structure and Function

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Book cover Immunopharmacology

Abstract

The immune system consists of approximately 2 × 1012 lymphocytes, which either circulate freely in the blood or exist within organ-specific spatial structures like the lymph nodes, thymus, spleen and bone-marrow. In a wider sense it also includes the macrophages, which have important antigen-presenting functions and are, in addition, effector cells, and the granulocytes, which are mediator and also effector cells. In terms of cell mass, the lymphocytes alone are equivalent to the liver or the central nervous system and therefore occupy as much space as these organ systems.

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    Professor Jürgen Drews MD (Chairman of the Research Board and Member of the Executive Committee)

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Drews, J. (1990). The Immune System — A Short Introduction to its Structure and Function. In: Immunopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75561-3_2

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