Inflammation 2 the the cells that try too hard, sometimes
Neutrophils chomp, send messages to dilate blood vessels and make them leaky
Basophils like mast cells,but in the blood, release histamine,a potent chemical
Eosinophils special parasite killers, and mediate allergic reactions
Monocytes…munchers,killer chemical secretors….move out of blood into all tissues, to become the guerrilla army
Lymphocytes…..memory recognition cells
B cells …start an antibody response
T cells…..killers
Plasma cells…..make antibodies
Macrophages (including the brain microglia), munchers,chemical killers,rubbish processors helping T cells learn what rubbish is
Mast cells release histamine and other chemicals in an on/off burst….anaphyllactic shock is when all their fireworks go off at once.
In the bloodstream there are a number of specialist white cells…recognition scouts, dispatch riders, memory cells and heavyweight munchers. They send orders and messages to each other, and when things get too hot their messages are carried to everywhere in the body (going global).Munchers are good at digesting bugs and worn out cells,they clean up stuff. But when its soot, or coal dust, or asbestos, or cigarette smoke or rock dust or fibreglass, or particulates, they just can’t…so they die….and their neighbours get the message to clean things up, eat the rubbish (literally), and fail again….
Once you see a smokers lung at post mortem, you never forget it. We have taken action against passive smoking…but not against air pollution to anything like the same extent.
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