Clinical Immunology and Innate Immunity

Abstract

Our body encounters a multitude of microorganisms in our daily lives. Due to surveillance of our robust immune system, these microbial encounters remain largely benign and only become pathologic at times. The majority of these pathogens are cleared rapidly by our innate immune system. The innate immune system is our body’s first line of defense that mounts a nonspecific response against pathogens. In this review, a contemporary summary of this complex system and its relevance to disease processes that are commonly seen in the surgical setting are presented, including components and activation of innate immunity, and relevant clinical scenarios. This review contains 10 figures, 11 tables, and 32 references. Keywords: Innate immunity, humoral immunity, phagocytosis, neutrophils, macrophages, pathogen-associated molecular pattern, damage-associated molecular pattern, wound healing, sepsis, SIRS, deep vein thrombosis, solid-organ rejection