When the innate system fails to provide an effective protection against an invading pathogen, the adaptive immune system is mobilized. This has a few characteristics. like having specificity which enables it to discriminate minor differences in the molecular structure; it is adaptive that can respond to an unlimited number of molecules; and it possesses immunological memory. Thus, it can recall previous encounters with an antigen and therefore, it responds more efficiently in case of subsequent exposures.
The adaptive immune response has two components: humoral immunity which involves antibodies that are produced by B-lymphocytes; and cellular immunity which is mediated by T-lymphocytes which synthesize and release cytokines. These interact with each other as well as with components of the innate immune system, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the immune response. The lymphoid organs are intimately related to the....
