Expert: Walter Hintz - 8/24/2006

Question
Respected Sir,
     Iam doing my graduation in biotechnology, India. I have a doubt in immunology, I would be grateful for your reply. "In animals there is an immune response elicited for any foreign body, what is the response of a female towards the impregnated sperms (they are cells from different individual,hence foreign at the receiving end), during copulation?"
Thank you.

Answer
This is a good question furquan.  Keep in mind that a fertilized egg is inside the oviduct or uterus but the inside of these organs is actually outside of the body.  The inside of any organ that has an opening to the outside is actually outside. Consider the alimantary canal.  It is a long tube with openings at each end and is full of foreign bodies. Anything in the gut is outside the body. Also consider the lungs. Anything in the alveoli is nit inside the body until it diffuse into the capillary.
 The immune response does not react to external proteins.  Is this clear?  If not let me know.