Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System

Citation

Abbas, A. K., Lichtman, A. H., & Pillai, S. (2023). Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System (7th ed.). Elsevier.

Chapter Summary

The book has twelve chapters followed by three appendices (principal features of selected CD molecules, cytokines, and clinical cases) and answers to the review questions. The authors are the same team that writes the larger text Cellular and Molecular Immunology, and the publisher presents this book as the concise version for medical and allied health students. Chapter titles give a clear sequence: the system and its components, innate immunity, antigen presentation and recognition, activation and effector mechanisms of T and B cells, tolerance, and then the immune system in disease.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Immune System: Nomenclature, General Properties, and Components

The opening chapter introduces the vocabulary of immunology, the general properties of immune responses and the components that make up the system, so that the mechanisms in later chapters have a shared frame.

Chapter 2: Innate Immunity: The Early Defense Against Infections

Covers the first line of defence against microbes. The publisher notes new and expanded content on innate immune responses to viruses in this edition.

Chapter 3: Antigen Presentation to T Lymphocytes and the Functions of Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules: What T Lymphocytes See

Explains how antigens are displayed to T lymphocytes by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, and so what the T cell actually recognises.

Chapter 4: Antigen Recognition in the Adaptive Immune System: Structure of Lymphocyte Antigen Receptors and Development of Immune Repertoires

Turns to the lymphocyte receptors themselves: their structure and how the diverse repertoire of receptors arises during lymphocyte development.

Chapters 5–6: T Cell–Mediated Immunity: Activation of T Lymphocytes; Effector Mechanisms of T Cell–Mediated Immunity: Functions of T Cells in Host Defense

A pair of chapters on cell-mediated immunity: how T lymphocytes are activated, and then what they do in host defence.

Chapters 7–8: Humoral Immune Responses: Activation of B Lymphocytes and Production of Antibodies; Effector Mechanisms of Humoral Immunity: Elimination of Extracellular Microbes and Toxins

The parallel pair for antibody-mediated immunity: B lymphocyte activation and antibody production, followed by the ways antibodies help eliminate extracellular microbes and toxins.

Chapter 9: Immunologic Tolerance and Autoimmunity: Self–Nonself Discrimination in the Immune System and Its Failure

Addresses how the immune system distinguishes self from nonself and what happens when that discrimination fails. The publisher lists mechanisms of immunologic tolerance among the edition's new and expanded topics.

Chapter 10: Tumor and Transplantation Immunology: Immune Responses to Cancer Cells and Normal Foreign Cells

Combines immune responses to tumours and to transplanted tissue. The publisher lists tumour immunotherapy among the edition's new and expanded topics.

Chapter 11: Hypersensitivity: Disorders Caused by Immune Responses

Covers diseases caused by immune responses themselves. The publisher lists immunotherapy for autoimmune, allergic and other inflammatory diseases among the edition's new topics, without saying which chapters carry it.

Chapter 12: Immunodeficiency Diseases: Disorders Caused by Defective Immunity

The final chapter takes up disorders that arise when immunity is defective.

Appendices

The three appendices are Principal Features of Selected CD Molecules, Cytokines and Clinical Cases. The publisher describes the clinical cases as an appendix for applying the content to real-world situations.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–4: Foundations

• Innate immunity: the early defence against infection, before the adaptive response develops (Chapter 2).
• MHC molecules: the molecules that present antigens to T lymphocytes (Chapter 3).
• Immune repertoire: the diversity of lymphocyte antigen receptors generated during development (Chapter 4).

Chapters 5–8: Adaptive responses

• T lymphocyte activation and effector functions: how T cells are switched on and how they act in host defence (Chapters 5–6).
• Humoral immunity: antibody production by B lymphocytes and the elimination of extracellular microbes and toxins (Chapters 7–8).

Chapters 9–12: The immune system in disease

• Tolerance and autoimmunity: self–nonself discrimination and its failure (Chapter 9).
• Tumour and transplantation immunology: immune responses to cancer cells and to normal foreign cells (Chapter 10).
• Hypersensitivity: disorders caused by immune responses (Chapter 11).
• Immunodeficiency: disorders caused by defective immunity (Chapter 12).

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Concise and ordered by function. Twelve chapters move from components, through innate and adaptive responses and their effector mechanisms, to tolerance and then to disease. The chapter titles carry explanatory subtitles, such as "What T Lymphocytes See", that state the question each chapter answers.
• Learning features designed for review. Elsevier lists chapter outlines, bolded key points, Summary Point boxes, focus questions in every chapter, end-of-chapter review questions, glossary terms and online answers to the questions and self-assessment.
• Clinical orientation. The publisher highlights disease pathogenesis, novel therapies based on basic science, and an appendix of clinical cases, and the last three chapters deal with disease directly.
• Up to date on recent topics. The seventh edition adds material on pandemics, COVID-19, herd immunity, RNA vaccines, tumour immunotherapy and immunotherapy for autoimmune, allergic and other inflammatory diseases.
• Authority and recognition. The authors are the same team as the larger Cellular and Molecular Immunology, and Elsevier reports the book was selected for 2026 Doody's Core Titles in Immunology.

Limitations

• Concise by design. The book is the shorter companion to a larger text, so students who need research-level depth on mechanisms will need that fuller text or a specialist source.
• No chapters on immunity to microbes or on vaccines. The contents list has no chapter devoted to either (the publisher mentions RNA vaccines and COVID-19 among the new content without naming a chapter). A microbiology-focused course will need a companion text.
• Combined chapters. Tumour immunity and transplantation share Chapter 10, and tolerance and autoimmunity share Chapter 9, which keeps the book short but means each topic gets less room than a dedicated chapter would give.

Where It Fits in the Course

In the microbiology and immunology course, this book is the focused immunology textbook between the lighter introductions and the long microbiology references. How the Immune System Works is a short, conversational introduction using analogies and simple diagrams, useful before this book if the whole system is unfamiliar. Medical Microbiology and Infection at a Glance supplies the pathogen side in double-page spreads.

For a combined course, Mims' Medical Microbiology and Immunology integrates immunology with microbiology and organises infection by body system, while Jawetz, Melnick & Adelberg's Medical Microbiology is a long single-volume reference on disease-causing microorganisms and Mims' Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease is a concise advanced text on how microbes cause disease. Abbas, Lichtman and Pillai concentrates on the host response and its disorders rather than on individual pathogens.

How to Use This Book

The book is written for medical and allied health students and for students of biology. Basic cell biology helps; because Chapter 1 begins with the nomenclature and components of the immune system, no previous immunology is needed.

A practical plan:

• Core: Chapters 1 to 4 in order, then Chapters 5 to 8, which give the machinery of adaptive immunity.
• Disease chapters: Chapters 9 to 12 are best read after the machinery, since they apply it to autoimmunity, cancer and transplantation, hypersensitivity and immunodeficiency.
• Reference material: use the appendices on CD molecules and cytokines while reading Chapters 5 to 8, and the clinical cases appendix after Chapters 9 to 12.
• Revision: answer each chapter's focus questions and review questions before looking at the online answers, and use the Summary Point boxes for last-minute review.