Lymphatic System

As blood flows through your cardiovascular system, fluid leaks out of your capillaries and mixes with the fluid that bathes your cells. Most of the fluid is reabsorbed by the capillaries, but some isn't. Your lymphatic system deals with this, it collects excess fluids and returns it to your blood. Your lymphatic system also helps fight off pathogens, which are microorganisms and viruses that make you sick.

Vessels of the Lymphatic System

The fluid that your lymphatic system collected is transported through vessels. The lymph capillaries are the smallest vessels of the lymphatic system. Lymph capillaries absorb fluid and any other particles to large to enter the blood capillaries. The particles and fluids absorbed into the capillaries are called lymph.

Lymph capillaries carry lymph into lymphatic vessels, which are larger vessels that have valves. Lymph isn't pushed by a pump, instead the squeezing of skeletal muscles provide the force to move lymph through vessels, and valves help prevent backflow. Lymph travels through your lymphatic system and then drains into large neck veins of the cardiovascular system.

Lymphatic Organs

Lymph Nodes

A lymph travels through your vessels, it passes through lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped organs where particles are removed from the lymph. Lymph nodes contain many white blood cells, some of these cells engulf pathogens. Other white blood cells produce chemicals that become attached to pathogens and mark them for destruction. When the body becomes infected with bacteria or virus, the white blood cells multiply and the nodes sometimes become swollen and painful.

Thymus

Your thymus is located just above you heart, and releases white blood cells. The white blood cells travel to other areas of the lymphatic system.

Spleen

Your spleen is your largest lymph organ, and is located in the upper left side of your abdomen. The spleen filters blood and also releases white blood cells. When red blood cells are squeezed through the spleen's capillaries, the older and more fragile cells rupture. The red blood cells are broken down and sometimes reused. For this reason, the spleen can be thought of as the red-blood-cell recycling center.

Tonsils

Tonsils are located at the back of your nasal cavity, on the inside of your throat, and at the back of your tongue. They're made up of groups of lymphatic tissue. White blood cells in the tonsils defend the body against infectons. Sometimes tonsils become badly infected and must be removed.

Lyme Disease

In the Lymphatic/immune system there is a disease called Lyme Disease it is spread by ticks and fleas that get the disease from dear that have the disease. When you get Lyme Disease you normally get a rash, flu-like symptoms, or Migratory joint pain. To treat Lyme Disease you would take oral antibiotics or take intravenous antibiotics. Sometimes when you get Lyme Disease it is not able to be treated but if you take antibiotics regularly then you will most likly get red of it. Wear long sleeves and long pants with bug spray when in forests to provent getting Lyme Disease and to keep even noninfected ticks out from under your skin.

HIV

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV will sooner or later lead to the disease called AIDS. If you have HIV it is hard for you to fight off sickness. Usually people with HIV or AIDS die. HIV and AIDS can be passed on by blood or anything that has to do with open cuts or stuff along that line.

Doctors

A pediatric infectious disease specialist helps treat HIV.

Tests and Diagnosis

Some tests to see if you have HIV are the ELISA, Westen blot test, rapid tests and home tests.

ELIZA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)

• looks for antibodies to virus in blood samples
• if the first test is positive, the same test is repeated
• if the repeated test is poitive, the person will have another blood test (Wester blot test)

Wester blot test

• checks for presence of HIV proteins
• Its important because the person may not have non-HIV antibodies, which would call a false positive result on the ELISA test

Combining the the two types of tests help ensure results were accurate.

• Pepeole recive a diagnosis of HIV only if all three tests were positive

Rapid Tests

• give highly accurate information within as little as 20 minutes
• look for antiebodies to the virus using samples of blood or fluids that were collected (sample collected on treated pad, which was rubbed on the upper and lower gums)

Risk Factors

Anyone of any age, race, or gender can be diagnosed with HIV. You're at greatest risk of HIV/AIDS if you:

• Have fewer copies of a gene called CCL3L1 that helps fight HIV infections.
  

The Immune System

The Immune System is the system in the body that protects the body from germs that could make you sick. You can make your immune system stronger by:

• eating healthy
• exercicing
• getting enough sleep

Hi and welcome to our new blog. We are doing a school project on the Lymphatic and Immune system so I hope you learn some new stuff.  We will post more things later. Got to go!!!