Outline of immunology

See also: Index of immunology articles

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 topical guide to immunology:

Essence of immunology

Main article: Immunology

• Branch of Biomedical science
• Immune system
• Immunity

 viral immunology

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
• Self-proteins

Components of the immune system

Main article: Immune system

Subsystems of the immune system

   Adaptive immune system

Main article: Adaptive immune system

   Innate immune system

Main article: 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

External links

• BMC: Immunology- BioMed Central:Immunology is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles.
• Nature Reviews Immunology (journal home)
• Janeway's Immunobiology textbook Searchable free online version at the National Center for Biotechnology Information
• Overview at Medical College of Georgia
• MUGEN NoE murine models for immunological disease
• 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).
• Online lectures in immunology University of South Carolina
• BRT-Burleson Research Technologies Tests the effects of pharmaceuticals in the developmental stage on the immune system.