Immunopathology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Immunopathology is a branch of medicine that deals with immune responses associated with disease. It includes the study of the pathology of an organism, organ system, or disease with respect to the immune system, immunity, and immune responses.

It is a subspecialty of Clinical Pathology which consists in analysis of body fluids for detection of immune system diseases.

(Source : Medline Plus : Medical Dictionary)

In biology, it refers to damage caused to an organism by its own immune response, as a result of an infection.

The most obvious example of this is inflammation; whereby cell or tissue damage due to microbes generates an inflammatory response. The observed redness and swelling is a result of swolen vascular tissues carrying extra plasma and leukocytes from the blood into injured tissues. This is the main pathology of meningitis - an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (known collectively as the meninges). The inflammation is so serious because of its proximity to the brain and spinal cord.