Immune Response involving

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Okay lets start with the origin of B cells and T cells. B = Bone Marrow & T = Thymus; this is where these cells originate from. Here's the confusing part, both B cells and T cells are BORN in the bone marrow; but T cells MIGRATE to the thymus and this is where they grow up (MATURE) hence they are called T cells. Think of the Thymus as Basic Military Training.

The word ANTIGEN is used in immunology and describes something that doesn't belong in our body. Something that doesn't belong is also referred to as FOREIGN or EXOGENOUS. ANTIGENS are FOREIGN and don't belong in our body. This can include bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites. ENDOGENOUS is what does belong in our body because all the cells making up our body are ENDOGENOUS to us.

SIDE-NOTE: An endogenous cell can be an ANTIGEN if it is infected with a virus or if it becomes cancerous.

Our body keeps track of all the ANTIGENS we've encountered and we recieve a list of ANTIGENS from our mother and father. When we are developing as an embryo we compare mom's list with dad's list and make our own list of ANTIGENS to combat disease. At any given moment there are 100 000 000 different types of T cells and B cells that are specific for a single SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT ANTIGEN.

NOTE: Not every ANTIGEN is on the list as they change (evolve) faster than we can keep track but our immune system can adapt to ...