Immunological Consequences of Changing Environmental Stimuli

Abstract

Most clinicians know that emotional life experiences, such as bereavement, divorce, or loss of employment, increase the probability of some type of illness. Pleasant postoperative settings have been reported to hasten recovery times after major surgery (120). It is also common for researchers to permit their experimental animals to adjust to new conditions after movement or a long shipment. Similarly, people who raise animals and supply domestic animal products know that lack of shelter, a chilly draft, or cold and wet flooring material increase the susceptibility of their livestock to infectious diseases. Indeed this concept of multiple causation of disease—an interaction among host, environment, and microbe—is so widely accepted by the public that there seems to be little need for future research in this area.