OUR BODY IS SELF-SUFFICIENT
by Dr. Robert Sniadach
While striving at self-sufficiency on a homestead, our body is already an "old hand" at such matters. From the moment of birth, the body is self-healing or self-repairing, self-directing and self regulating on a continual basis. Let's take a look at how it has been accomplishinfcg this task.
Cells of Repair
Our body has certain cells with very specialized jobs to perform. These cells work for us to maintain health and thwart any outside influence that may interfere with our well being.
Neutrophil
The neutrophil is a white blood cell that is one of the most common and most important of the cells active in the healing and repair process. These cells contain large quantities of a characteristic protein that has a marked ability to dispose of decayed or spent bacteria and other debris.
During the inflammatory reaction, neutrophils migrate into the tissues where they are very active phagocytes. In this situation, neutrophils are mainly responsible for ingesting the unwanted debris that accumulates. During phagocytosis, the granules or lysosomes of the cells are discharged and many of the cells die; the aggregate of dead neutrophils forms the material known as pus. Bacteria then proliferate to feast on this pus, thus making it easier to expel.
Eosinophil
Eosinophils are white blood cells that occur in the bloodstream in much smaller numbers than do neutrophils. They are also somewhat phagocytic and are found in greatly increased numbers in both blood and tissues during inflammatory conditions.
Basophils
Basophils constitute only 0.5 percent of the white cells of the blood. They are said to contain histamine and a heparin-like substance. Histamine dilates capillaries and often permits fluid to move through the capillaries and into the tissues. Heparin is an anticoagulant of the blood. Apparently tissue basophils become the mast cells of the tissues. The large granules of mast cells are thought to store enzymes. Mast cells are important in cellular mechanisms needed during injury.
Monocytes
There are comparatively few monocytes in the blood about 5 percent of the total white cell count. Monocytes are actively motile and phagocytic. It is thought that they function in contributing to the repair and reorganization of tissues. Monocytes and macrophages are capable of engulfing old, worn out neutrophils, mast cells, and particles of tissue in the process of cleaning up an area of inflammation after the initial stages have been passed and recovery is in progress.
Fibroblasts
The function of fibroblasts in tissue repair is to lay down dense collagen fibers to form a firm, mechanically-strong replacement for dead tissue. The simplest such situation is after an incised wound has been made in the skin. There the collagen fibers are oriented transversely across the incision, restoring mechanical strength.
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes are also strongly phagocytic and carry out their duty of healing and repair by assisting the neutrophils during inflammation conditions and injury.
The Organs of Repair
Lymph Nodes
The lymph nodes contain small lymphocytes and large dendritic macrophages. The dendrites of the macrophages carry important impulses or messages to the cell body. The lymph stream widens very greatly as it passes through the node; therefore the rate of flow is greatly reduced. The lymph filters through a maze of passageways lined with phagocytic cells. Such cells engulf bacteria and other foreign materials from the lymph stream. Thus the body is kept in a healthy and stable condition.
The Spleen
The spleen has four major functions:
1. Blood destruction - Old red blood cells are destroyed in all parts of the reticuloendothelial system, including those of the lymph nodes and spleen. (Reticuloendothelial system applies to those cells scattered throughout the body that have the power to ingest bacteria and solid particles.)
2. Cellular production - The spleen manufactures lymphocytes and monocytes.
3. Blood storage - The spleen serves as a reservoir for blood, or, more specifically, for red blood cells, as most of the plasma is returned to the circulation whereas red blood cells are enmeshed in the splenic bulb. Marked contraction of the spleen occurs during muscular exercise, thereby releasing red blood cells and increasing oxygen capacity. The spleen undergoes rhythmic variations in size in response to physiologic demands, such as exercise and hemorrhage, and thus influences the volume of circulating blood. The volume of stored blood may vary from a liter to as little as 50 ml.
4. Blood filtration - The spleen, serving as a part of the body's reticuloendothelial mechanism, filters spent cells and their debris from the blood.
The Liver
Organisms are filtered from the blood by macrophages in the wall of the sinusoids (minute blood vessels), and various toxic chemicals are removed from the blood by liver cells. The sinusoids are lined partly by flat nonphagocytic endothelial cells and partly by more rounded and irregular shaped macrophages (or Kupffer cells) that project into the lumen of the sinusoid. These cells are similar in structure to macrophages elsewhere and are avidly phagocytic. The protective function of the liver is associated with its ability to detoxify products of catabolism that might accumulate in dangerous proportions. These products are changed chemically into substances that can be excreted by the kidneys or through the intestinal tract. Macrophages present in the liver sinusoids aid in filtering foreign matter from the blood.
The Bone Marrow
Bone marrow is highly important as the source of the cells of the blood and other cells in the body's system. Development of blood cells within the bones commences during the fifth month of fetal life. Blood-forming elements appear initially in the centers of the bone marrow cavities; the blood-forming centers later expand to occupy the entire marrow space. This widely-dispensed blood cell formation continues until puberty, when the marrow in all the ends of the long bones becomes less cellular and fattier, giving rise to yellow bone marrow, in which most of the hematopoietic tissue has been replaced by fat. In the adult, only the redbone marrow, located principally in the skull, vertebrae, ribs, sternum, and pelvis, retains hematopoietic activity. The total productive bone marrow in the adult is about 1,400 gm.
It is apparent that a most important part of the bodily repair mechanism is the production of cells--polymorphs, lymphocytes, macrophages, and plasma cells. When bodily mechanisms break down, one of the commonest causes of impairment is failure to produce these cells. The failure may be due to drugs or poisons, to gross errors in diet, to destruction of the bone marrow by neoplasm, or to irradiation of the marrow. The way that the mechanism fails depends on what group of cells is most severely affected. If the precursors of neutrophil polymorphs are affected, then there is an acute shortage of cells able to phagocytose dead or decaying bacteria. Alternatively, the megakaryocytes may be damaged. These are the precursors of the blood platelets, the cells that play a vital part in blood clotting. In their absence, the blood will not clot and the individual may bleed to death. Such abnormalities only occur in an enervated and toxic body. When you are living correctly, cells that are active in healing and repair will be present in correct numbers to maintain a state of health.
From the above study of the roles of the cells and organs of repair, you can clearly see that the body is constantly at work to maintain homeostasis or ideal operating conditions. Even under some adverse conditions (when we disobey some physiological law of nature), these forces remain active. It is only after repeated abuse that the healing forces fail because they become overwhelmed and exhausted. It is the duty of the teacher, then, to instruct his client to restore the conditions of health. The body's healing forces will then regain normalcy.
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