Q. What are the two groups of defense mechanisms of the body against harmful agents or foreign? What is the difference between them?
The body has many defense mechanisms against foreign pathogenic agents and these mechanisms are divided into two groups- the unspecific mechanisms and the specific mechanisms. The specific mechanisms are part of the immune system and comprehend the cellular immune response and the humoral immune response that respectively produce defense cells and antibodies against specific antigens. The unspecific mechanisms fight in a general manner any kind of antigen (they do not have specificity) and in them a series of defense means are integrated like, the mucous, the skin barrier against foreign agents and ciliated epithelium of the airway, inflammation (the inflammatory response) and the action of unspecific proteins and defense cells (example, macrophages and interferons).