The Immune System

by Peter Parham

Overview

A thoroughly updated introduction to immunology, now with powerful online assessment and robust instructor resources.

The Immune System is a concise yet thorough human-oriented introduction to how the human immune system works. It provides an up-to-date presentation of the field, written in an accessible style, replete with relevant medical examples. Plentiful illustrations and micrographs complement and illuminate the explanations. The Fifth Edition is supported by InQuizitive, Norton’s award-winning, easy-to-use adaptive learning tool that provides student practice and promotes critical thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393533361
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Peter Parham is a professor in the departments of structural biology as well as microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. Dr. Parham’s research has focused on proteins of the human immune system that vary greatly between individuals and populations. These differences, the consequence of natural selection, not only modulate the immune response to infection and cancer, but also influence the success of reproduction and therapeutic transplantation of cells, tissues, and organs. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society in 2008.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Elements of the Immune System and their Roles in Defense. Defenses facing invading pathogens. Principles of adaptive immunity.

Chapter 2: Antibody Structure and the Generation of B-Cell Diversity. The structural basis of antibody diversity. Generation of immunoglobulin diversity in B cells before encounter with antigen. Diversification of antibodies after B cells encounter antigen.

Chapter 3: Antigen Recognition by T Lymphocytes. T-cell receptor diversity. Antigen processing and presentation. The major histocompatibility complex.

Chapter 4: The Development of B Lymphocytes. The development of B cells in the bone marrow. Selection and further development of the B-cell repertoire.

Chapter 5: The Development of T Lymphocytes. The development of T cells in the thymus. Positive and negative selection of the T-cell repertoire.

Chapter 6: T-Cell Mediated Immunity. Activation of naive T cells on encounter with antigen. The properties and functions of effector T cells.

Chapter 7: Immunity Mediated by B Cells and Antibodies. Antibody production by B lymphocytes. Antibody effector functions. The antigen-antibody mediated pathway of complement activation.

Chapter 8: The Body's Defenses Against Infection. Innate immunity. Adaptive immune responses to infection. Immunological memory and the secondary immune response.

Chapter 9: Failures of the Body's Defenses. Evasion and subversion of the immune system by pathogens. Inherited immunodeficiency diseases. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Chapter 10: Over-reactions of the Immune System. Type I hypersensitivity reactions. Types II, III, and IV hypersensitivity reactions.

Chapter 11: Disruption of Healthy Tissue by the Immune Response. Autoimmune diseases. Genetic and environmental factors which predispose to autoimmune disease.

Chapter 12: Manipulation of the Immune Response. Prevention of infectious disease by vaccination. Transplantation of tissues and organs. Cancer and its interactions with the immune system.

Editorial Reviews

...Appealing and relevant for those students who approach the study of the immune system through a clinical lens, including students of medicine, pharmacology, midwifery, or nursing; it would also be appropriate in an introductory immunology course.

Clinical Immunology

Reviewer: Marion C. Cohen, PhD (SUNY Downstate Medical Center)
Description: This is the third edition of a classical type of immunology textbook that focuses primarily on the human immune system. It is adapted Janeway's Immunobiology, 7th edition, Murphy et al. (informa Healthcare, 2008) but is heavily weighted towards clinical information. The previous edition was published in 2005.
Purpose: Written for first time students of immunology, the book's potential audience includes undergraduate, medical, dental, and pharmacy students. Its stated goal is to be comprehensible, up-to-date, and reader-friendly and to achieve this it uses medical examples extensively.
Audience: Beginning students of immunology will enjoy using this textbook because it is written with them in mind. Moreover, because it correlates basic science with clinical issues, it anchors theory to reality and thus will provide a way to better understand the immune system. The author is a well known immunologist who has enlisted help from others who are highly knowledgeable.
Features: The book covers all the subjects one would expect to find in a textbook of immunology. The first 10 chapters provide a view of the normal immune response and its components. This is followed by three chapters that discuss diseases resulting from an inadequate or inappropriate immune response. The final chapters focus on how the immune system is being manipulated to improve human health. Throughout the book, the relationship of the immune system to human diseases is well documented. Study questions at the end of each chapter include essay, multiple-choice, and case study formats. Answers are provided. The book also includes a glossary. The illustrations are in full color and are available on a web site (Garland Science Classwire) for use by instructors. There will be a separate book of case studies available that is coordinated with this textbook. A minor peculiarity is that the contents of the book appears twice: first as a list of chapter titles that is not always helpful in identifying where specific topics may be found, which is then followed by the detailed contents in each chapter.
Assessment: There are a number of immunology textbooks available that appeal to instructors for different reasons. Because immunology is an ever-changing field, new editions generally appear at 3- to 4-year intervals and a particular text is often chosen because it is the most up to date. However, there is a tendency to stick with one text out of habit. A book like this, which focuses on the human immune system with less emphasis on the experimental data that led up to the science, would be appropriate for medical or dental students, many of whom complain whenever mice or rats are mentioned. Moreover, it relates disease to basic principles very well which appeals to these students. The availability of the figures for PowerPoint presentations is also a plus.

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