|
The bone marrow and thymus are parts of the body where cells of the immune system are carefully selected. This process permits the propagation of immune cells that can detect a wide variety of foreign particles, while ignoring "self" compounds. When this selectivity is compromised, the immune system can incorrectly destroy compounds of the body it was designed to protect. This leads to an array of autoimmune disorders. A few notable examples of diseases associated with autoimmune dysfunction include multiple sclerosis, rheumatic fever, myasthenia gravis, and diabetes mellitus.
|