Science Common Sense

1246 - How does the skin and the lymphatic system protect the body from external invasion such as bacteria?

Imagine your skin as a shield that protects your body. It has two main jobs:

1. Barriers: The skin acts as a barrier, like a protective layer, that stops bad things like bacteria and viruses from entering your body. The skin has natural oils and acids that make it difficult for bacteria to grow.
2. Warning signals: If the skin is cut or injured, the body sends signals to the lymphatic system, which is like a cleanup crew. The lymphatic system helps to:
3. Carry white blood cells, called immune cells, to fight the bad guys (bacteria and viruses)
4. Filter out bad things from your bloodstream
5. Remove waste and bacteria from your body

In the lymphatic system, there are tiny factories called lymph nodes, which help to: * Traps bad things, like bacteria * Activates immune cells to fight them * Sends the bad things to your excretory system to be removed

So, when the skin is injured or infected, the lymphatic system works to find, fight, and remove the bad things to keep your body healthy and safe.