Histology of the Immune System

Learning Objectives

• Students should be able to describe how immature T-lymphocytes enter the thymus and trace their path of maturation through the thymus.
• Given a histological image of the thymus, students should be able to distinguish cortex and medulla and identify a Hassall's corpuscle.
• Given a histological image of a lymph node, students should be able to identify a secondary follicle, the inter follicular zone, and lymph node sinuses and list the types of immune cells in these different zones of the lymph node.
• Students should be able to trace the flow of an antigen through a lymph node and the describe its interactions with immune cells along its path.
• Given a histological image of the spleen, students should be able to differentiate between white and red pulp and describe their roles in an immune response(white pulp)and filtration of red blood (red pulp) cell