Topic outline of immunology

:"For a more comprehensive list, see the List of immunology topics."

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with, among other things, the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, etc.); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Immunology has various applications in several disciplines of science, and as such is further divided.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to immunology:

Essence of immunology

: "Main article: Immunology"

* Branch of Biomedical science
* Immune system
* Immunity

Branches of immunology

* Classical immunology
* Clinical immunology
* Computational immunology
* Diagnostic immunology
* Evolutionary immunology
* Immunotherapy
* Systems immunology

* Cancer immunology
* Testicular immunology

History of immunology

: "Main article: History of immunology"

* Timeline of immunology

The immune system attacks and protects against

* Pathogens
** Pathogenic bacteria
** Viruses
** Fungi
** Protozoa
*** "Balantidium coli" - the only ciliated protozoan to infect humans.
*** "Giardia lamblia" - the most common intestinal protozoan in the United States.
*** "Trichomonas vaginalis"
*** "Naegleria fowleri" facultative parasite causing amoebic meningitis
*** "Entamoeba histolytica" causes Amebiasis, common in developing countries
*** Kinetoplastid protists of the "Trypanosoma" and "Leishmania" genera (sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmania
*** Apicomplexan parasites including "Plasmodium" (malaria), "Toxoplasma" (toxoplasmosis), and "Cryptosporidia" (cryptosporidiosis)
* Parasites
* Tumors
* Allergens

Components of the immune system

Subsystems of the immune system

Adaptive immune system

Innate immune system

:* Complement system:** Biochemical cascade:** Complement membrane attack complex:*Surface barriers - Physical or chemical barriers that prevent infection (i.e. skin, tears, mucus, saliva, Gastric acid, etc.):**Antimicrobial peptides:**Defensins:**Lysozyme:*Inflammation

Organs of the immune system

:* Thymus:* Bones - White blood cells (leukocytes) are produced in bone marrow:* Spleen - Rich in B and T lymphocytes.

Tissues of the immune system

:* Bone marrow:* White pulp

Cells of the immune system

* White blood cells (leukocytes)
** Granulocytes
*** Neutrophil granulocytes (neutrophils)
*** Eosinophil granulocytes (eosinophils)
*** Basophil granulocytes
** Lymphocytes
*** B cells
**** Plasma B cells
**** Memory B cells
**** B-1 cells
**** B-2 cells (the conventional B cells most texts refer to)
*** Natural killer cells (NK cells)
*** T cells
**** Helper T cells
**** Cytotoxic T cells
**** Memory T cells
**** Regulatory T cells
**** Natural Killer T cells
**** γδ T cells
*Cells of the innate immune system
**Mast cells
**Phagocytes
**Macrophages

Immunological biomolecules

* Antibodies
* Antigen
* Superantigen
* Histamines
* Cytolysins

Immune system disorders

* Hypersensitivity
** Allergy (immune system disorder)
*** Allergen
* Autoimmunity
* Immunodeficiency
** Primary immunodeficiency
* Transplant rejection

Immune system health maintenance

Optimum immune system health

* Prevention

Exercise and the immune system

Nutrition and the immune system

Immunological medicine

Immunological treatments

:* Immunosuppressive drug:* Vaccine:* Vaccination

Immunologists

: "Main article: List of immunologists"

Immunology lists

: "Main article: List of immunology topics"

* List of autoimmune diseases
* List of immunologists
* List of viruses

See also

External links

* [http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcimmunol/ BMC: Immunology] - BioMed Central:Immunology is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles.
* Nature Reviews Immunology ( [http://www.nature.com/nri/index.html journal home] )
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=imm.TOC&depth=2 Janeway's Immunobiology textbook] Searchable free online version at the National Center for Biotechnology Information
* [http://www.lib.mcg.edu/edu/esimmuno/progmenu.htm Overview] at Medical College of Georgia
* [http://www.mugen-noe.org/ MUGEN NoE] murine models for immunological disease
* [http://medweb2.unige.ch/immunologie/ Transplantation Immunology] Interesting web site made by the faculty of medicine of the University of Geneva dealing with the immunological issues linked with the transplantation of materials genetically different between donor and recipient (hematopoietical stem cells, organs or the transfusion of blood).
* [http://media.med.sc.edu/microbiology2007/ Online lectures in immunology] University of South Carolina
* [http://www.brt-labs.com/ BRT-Burleson Research Technologies] Tests the effects of pharmaceuticals in the developmental stage on the immune system.