Immunology is the area of life science concerned with how an organism fights infection and disease. To defend itself, the body makes use of the immune system, a complex set of specialized cells and organs that cooperate together to fight disease. This involves protecting us against invading bacteria and viruses, eliminating other foreign substances from the body, and destroying cancer cells. As the immune system is so important, diseases of the system can often be fatal - for example HIV/AIDS. With an editorial board containing 12 Nobel laureates, this invaluable collection of high-quality articles on immunology is taken from the successful Meyer's Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine. Clearly divided into four main sections, this ready reference covers innate and adaptive immunity, signaling in the immune system, techniques, and immunological disorders. The articles are uniformly structured for ease of use, carefully designed to aid readers of all levels of expertise. To this end, each chapter includes a glossary of the most important keywords, a concise summary of the article and comprehensive literature references. This title is essential reading on the hottest topics in immunity today.