DEFENSES BASED ON EXPULSION

The body must have openings for breathing, for the intakeT of nutrients and expulsion of wastes, and for reproduc- tion. Each of these openings offers pathogens an invasion route, and each is endowed with special defense mechanisms. The constant washing of the mouth with saliva kills some pathogens and dislodges others so they can be destroyed by the acid and enzymes in the stomach. The eyes are washed by tears laden with defensive chemicals and the respiratory system by antibody and enzyme-rich secretions that are steadily propelled up to the throat, where they can be swallowed so the invaders can be killed and the protein in the mucus recycled. The ears secrete an antibacterial wax. Projections inside the nose, called turbinates, provide a large surface that warms, moistens, and filters pathogens from the incoming air. Mouth-breathers don’t get the full benefit of this defense and are more subject to infection. The nose and ears have hairs strategically arrayed to keep out insects.

The defenses at each body opening can be quickly increased if danger threatens. Irritation of the nose by a viral infection provokes the discharge of such copious mucus that one can go through a whole box of tissues in a day. Millions of people use nasal sprays each year to block this useful response, but there are remarkably few studies that have investigated whether the use of such devices delays recov- ery from a cold. If they do not demonstrably delay recovery, as seems to be the case from the limited data, it would be evidence that a runny nose is not a defense but an example of a pathogen manipulating the host’s physiology in order to spread itself. Sneezing is obviously a defensive adaptation, but not every sneeze need be adaptive for the sneezer. Some sneezing may possibly be an adaptation that viruses use to disperse themselves.