The Jaina Doctrine of Karma And The Science Of Genetics: Disease Of The Immune System

Fig. 42: Scanning electron micrograph of a lymph node. The large cells with multiple protrusions are macrophages; the smaller round cells are lymphocytes. A biconcave red blood cell can be seen on the left. (Micrograph by Willem van Ewijk, Dept Immunology, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.)

The immune system is a complex and highly developed system yet its mission is simple, to seek and kill invaders. If a person is born with a severely defective immune system, death from infection by a virus, bacterium, fungus or parasite may occur. In severe combined immunodeficiency, look of an enzyme means that toxic waste builds up inside immune system cells, killing them and thus devastating the immune system. A lack of immune system cells is also the basis for Di George Syndrom, improper development of the thymus gland means that T cell production is diminished.^[38]