Lymphoid Cells (Nursing)

00:02 So switching to our lymphoid organs and tissues, we find that these organs and tissues are going to provide a structural basis of the immune system by housing phagocytic cells as well as lymphocytes.

00:17 We also have several lymphatic structures, including the spleen, thymus, tonsils, lymph nodes, and other lymphoid tissues.

00:29 The lymphoid cells include two different types of cells.

00:33 We have the immune system cells, which are found in the lymphoid tissue.

00:37 And then we have the cells that support them or the supporting cells, which are going to be found in the lymphoid tissue structures.

00:48 As far as the immune system cells go, there are several different types.

00:52 We have our lymphocytes, which are the cells of the adaptive immune system that are going to mature into either T cells or B cells, and these are sometimes referred to as T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes.

01:08 These T cells and B cells are there to protect our bodies against antigen.

01:14 An examples of antigens are things such as bacteria, toxins, viruses, red blood cells that do not belong in our body, as well as some cancer cells.

01:28 The T cells are there to manage our immune response and also attack and destroy infected cells.

01:37 The B cells are going to produce another type of cell called plasma cells.

01:42 Plasma cells are important because they are going to secrete our antibodies.

01:47 These antibodies are then going to mark antigens for destruction.

01:52 After they are marked phagocytic cells are going to go in and phagocytose these cells and get rid of them.

02:01 Other lymphoid immune cells include macrophages.

02:05 These are our phagocytic cells that phagocytize foreign substances and help to activate T cells.

02:13 Another important immune cell in our lymphoid system are the dendritic cells.

02:19 These have little fingers that capture antigens and deliver them to the lymph nodes.

02:25 And also play a role in activating our T cells.

02:30 Outside of the immune system cells, we also have our supporting cells.

02:34 These include the reticular cells, which are going to produce the reticular fibers that make up the stroma in our lymphoid organs.

02:44 The stroma more specifically, is a network like support that acts as a scaffolding for these immune cells and gives them a place to go after they've been circulated, or before they are circulated.

03:00 Here's an example of what those reticular fibers look like, and as you can see, the reticular fibers are surrounding these other immune cells such as macrophages.