Preksha Dhyana Human Body Part 2

SR No.: 006550
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jethalal S Zaveri
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati
Publication Year: 1993
Total Pages: 118
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Yoga
File Size: 6 MB

Page 81

The Body's Defences
The body's defences operate 24 hours-a-day throughout our lives. If these defences are breached, illness and even death may follow. Skin is the first of several lines of defence to fall back upon. Few micro-organisms can penetrate trough unbroken skin. The mucous membranes that line the oral and nasal cavities are covered with a sticky mucus that immobilizes microbes. Antimicrobial secretions add to the defence of these and other portals into the body. Sterilizing acid-bath deals with the microbes that reach the stomach.
Formidable as these defences are, they can be breached and frequently are. Microbes can, then, slip pass, and penetrate. When infection occurs, additional defences are called on. These may be either non-specific defencemechanism such as interferon1 or specific immune responses.
Tonsils
Removing the tonsils to prevent recurrent throat and ear infections was a medical fad sometime ago. Paradoxically, tonsils frequently fell victims to the surgon's knife precisely because they were doing their job. The tonsils guard the doors of the respiratory tract which is an open invitation to a world filled with germs. Tonsils, located at the back of the throat, are actually one of three separate pairs of lymphatic structures that provide a protective barrier for the mouth, throat, larynx, trachea and lungs. They contribute lymphocytes and immune substances to the body's defences and must not be removed, unless due to recurrent severe infections, they swell and block the respiratory and digestive passages.
1. Interferon is a chemical (protein) produced by body which protects the cells against practically all virus. It can also be synthetically manufactured.
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