Primary and Secondary Lymphoid Organs

For Immunology – Chapter 2 (Day 2) Learning Objectives

1.  Primary lymphoid organs have “niches”.  Summarize what happens in ____________ niches.  It may be helpful to include diagrams with your answer.
   • Bone marrow
   •  Thymus
2. There is a lot of information about T cells being double negative (DN), single positive (SP), and double positive (DP).  What is the order of these stages?  For each stage, what cells do the T cells interact with and what is the typical outcome at those stages?
3.  Discuss the fluid compartment of the human body.  Include descriptions of plasma, interstitial fluid, and lymph.  What vessels are involved?  In what directions do these liquids flow within and between compartments?
4. Compare and contrast the function of the lymph nodes with the function of the spleen.  For your comparison, consider the architecture of each organ type.  Also consider the source of antigen that these organs screen.
5. Summarize the MALT system.  MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) has more plasma cells than the rest of the body combined.  These plasma cells secrete vast amounts of antibody (class = IgA).  Where does the IgA end up?  How does this relate to the source of antigen in the MALT?
6. The intestine and the skin constitute the vast majority of the surface area between a body and the external world.  Discuss the arrangement of immune cells in Peyer’s patches and in the epidermis/dermis of the skin.
7.  (Bonus) Write a question about a topic from this reading assignment that you think is important, but that Dr. Graff forgot to cover.