This chapter deals with the body's response to disease caused by infection with bacteria, viruses, or other microbes. The fundamental response is based on inflammation, which is mediated by the evolutionarily oldest elements of the immune system refered to as innate immunity (as opposed to adaptive immunity). Innate immunity is described in detail, and it is shown how it is greatly amplified by cells of the adaptive immune system: T and B cells. The role of dendritic cells and class I MHC molecules is discussed. The chapter also looks more closely at how T cells deal with intracellular invasion by microbes (intracellular parasites).
Keywords: innate immunity, adaptive immunity, dendritic cells, MHC, intracellular parasites, T cells, B cells,