CLINICAL MEDICINE

Detailed explanation-1: -mucus. a thick, watery substance that shields the body from pathogens.

Detailed explanation-2: -The mucus layer provides an essential first host barrier to inhaled pathogens that can prevent pathogen invasion and subsequent infection.

Detailed explanation-3: -The MIT team, led by Katharina Ribbeck, Ph. D., Professor in the Biological Engineering Department, has found that mucus tames pathogens contained in its sticky matrix so the immune system can kick in and fight when it needs to-but mucus doesn’t kill bacteria on its own.

Detailed explanation-4: -The mucus serves as a first line of innate defense and is produced by surface goblet cells, other epithelial cells, and glands that are all intimately coupled to other parts of the innate and adaptive immune systems. The mucus is composed of many different molecules with mucins forming the basic skeleton.