This video we're going to briefly talk about earwax as a chemical defense. Earwax can help prevent microbial growth by controlling the pH, serving as both a physical and a chemical barrier in the first line defenses of innate immunity. It can physically prevent microbe entry into the ear, and earwax can also control, once again, the pH of the environment. Earwax, which is a complex mixture that contains sebum, rich in fatty acids, can actually help to lower the pH, inhibiting microbial growth. Also, earwax contains many skin cells from the ear canal, which contain keratin. Keratin helps create a dry environment that also protects our bodies.
If we take a look at our image down below on the left-hand side, notice we're showing you our first line defense map, focusing in on the chemical barriers and earwax. Over on the right, we're focusing on earwax as a chemical defense and a physical barrier as well. Notice here we're showing you an image of the ear and the ear canal, and you can see that there is earwax within the ear canal. This earwax contains chemicals, antimicrobial chemicals that protect us from microbes, help to lower the pH to inhibit microbial growth, and physically block microbes from entering as well. So notice this image is portraying that, and you can see these microbes trying to enter through our ear canal are getting stuck in the earwax, serving as a physical barrier as well.
This here concludes our brief lesson on earwax as a chemical defense and a physical barrier. We'll get to talk more about other chemical defenses as we move forward in our course. I'll see you in our next video.