Question

Many microbial pathogens enter the gut of humans along with food. Name the physiological barrier that protects the body from such pathogens.

Answer 1

These include your skin, tears, mucus, cilia, stomach acid, urine flow, 'friendly' bacteria and white blood cells called neutrophils. Pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms must make it past this first line of defence.

Answer 2

The body has different barriers against the pathogens that enter the body:

• First line of defense consists of the physical barrier skin and chemicals like the mucus, etc that help to keep the microbes off.
• Second line of a defense is "the immune system itself with its WBCs that protect by phagocytosis and chemical secretion".
• The third lines of a defense are "B and T cells that are there to initiate the specific immune response".
• These are the barriers protecting the body from microbes that enter  stomach via food.