Basic and Clinical Immunology

Within this one volume both basic science and clinical immunology are demystified for the medical and other health sciences student. The basic immunological processes are described first, with a level of detail restricted to what is appropriate for medical (and similar) curricula. In the second part of the book, immunological mechanisms behind major diseases of the various body systems are explained. Throughout the text clinical details are highlighted and more in-depth material is differentiated from the main text.

Anatomy and cells of the immune system. Innate immunity I: physical and humoral protection. Innate immunology II: cellular mechanisms. Acquired immunity: antigen receptors. The human leukocyte antigens. Cellular immune responses I: dendritic cells, macrophages and B lymphocytes. Cellular immune responses II: T lymphocytes, antigen presentation and natural killer cells. The immune response to microbes: an overview. Tolerance and mechanisms of autoimmunity. Hypersensitivity reactions and clinical allergy. Transplantation. Rheumatic diseases. Endocrine autoimmune disease. Liver diseases. Gastrointestinal diseases. Immune-mediated nephritis and vasculitis. Immune-mediated skin disease. Immune-mediated diseases of the nervous system and eye. Immunodificiency. Human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS. Immunological manifestations of haematological disease. Immune-based therapies. Immunisation.