I’m always intrigued by patterns. It’s fascinating how we can find similarities across vastly different subjects.
Today, I’d like to share an example with you.
I asked my friend and colleague, Dr Sundararaj Jeremiah, an immunologist and virologist at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain, about what happens when a foreign body enters the body.
Here’s what he explained: The word ‘foreign’ might sound distant, but its implications hit close to home, or should I say, within our bodies. A foreign body is anything that doesn’t belong there. Think of it as something that has wandered in uninvited through the body’s doors.
These foreign bodies can be categorised into three types: the good, the bad, and the neutral (not the ugly).
Good foreign bodies bring benefits. They could be well-matched blood for transfusion, organs for transplant, or even medical implants like prosthetic joints or screws to mend fractures. On the flip side, bad foreign bodies cause harm, such as infected blood transfusions or poorly matched organ transplants. Then there are the neutral ones, like a stray shard of glass that slips in unnoticed, neither helping nor harming.
But what happens when a foreign body enters our system? Well, our bodies go into alert mode. Picture immune cells as the vigilant police or army, encircling the intruder, waiting to see its next move. If the foreign body behaves, the immune cells create a peaceful coexistence, allowing it to carry out its purpose. Even the neutral ones are given a pass. However, if the foreign body turns hostile, the immune system gears up for battle. This showdown can manifest as fever and pain, as the body fights tooth and nail to neutralise the threat.
Now, hear me out. Does what applies to a living organism’s body also apply to nations? I mean, think about it. Let’s imagine – just imagining – that a foreign country (Israel) were transplanted into the heart of a whole nation (the Arabic Nation). They share the same language, history, culture, religion, cuisine and high similarities in DNA, and the list can go on forever. And then, that foreign country tries to seize the land through nothing but brutality. This brutality would undoubtedly trigger the immune system of that nation to consider it as a ‘bad foreign body’, sparking a fight. As a result of this conflict, the Arabic nation’s body suffers from specific symptoms like fever, inflammation, pain and discomfort. Can you see the pattern here?
Now, you might be wondering, what is the fate of the body suffering from this bad foreign entity? Well, I guess as long as the immune system considers it a foreign body, the result remains the same. It will endure fever and pain for some time before returning to its former health, equipped with an eternal immunity against that foreign intrusion.