title: Immunology for orthopedists.
abstract: In summary, the immune system provides two specific types of responses: humoral or B-cell immunity, and T-cell-mediated immunity to a specific stimulus. In response to a noxious stimulus, the inflammatory response utilizes some common cellular elements of the immune system and is not immunologically mediated. The antigen provides the foundation for all specific immune reactions. These molecules are unique and form the basis for transplantation immunology--the human MHC, or major histocompatibility complex. Genes code for molecules on the surface of cells which identify an individual by species-specific and individual-specific markers. Transplanted biologic materials may have cells, but they also have matrix or collagen components that are immunogenic. To determine and characterize these immune responses, a number of diagnostic methods are available. These range from routing H&E histological studies for cell population to sophisticated mitogenic stimulation assays for determining antigenicity and patient sensitization. Certainly immunobiology will be increasingly important as the use of biologic material and transplantation become more widespread.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Lanzer
mesh_terms: D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D014181:Transplantation Immunology