MadSci Network: Immunology |
An animal must defend itself against unwelcome intruders; when bacteria, viruses or fungi invade the human body (causing an infection), the body will respond by activating cells in the immune system. These cells are called white blood cells (or leukocytes), and their job is to fight infections in various ways one of which is to raise the body temperature (a fever). The invading micro- organism and the toxin it produces can directly set the body's thermostat (a part of the brain called hypothalamus) at a higher temperature, or trigger the white blood cells to secret substances (such as interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor) that can set the body temperature higher. Often, fever helps fight the infection because some micro- organisms don't grow very well in elevated body temperature. Temperature increase also facilitate the white blood cells to eat up the micro-organisms.
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