Define a pathogen | An organism causing disease to its host |
How do pathogens stimulate the immune response system? | Specific immune responses are triggered by antigens. The immune system responds to antigens by producing cells that directly attack the pathogen, or by producing special proteins called antibodies. |
Define an antigen | Any substance that causes the body to make an immune response against that substance. |
Define an antibody | A protein made by plasma cells in response to an antigen |
Define the innate immune system | The first response of the body's immune system to a harmful foreign substance. It is general/ non-specific. |
Define the adaptive immune system | Specialized immune cells and antibodies that attack and destroy foreign invaders and are able to prevent disease in the future by remembering what those substances look like and mounting a new immune response. (It is specific) |
What are physical barriers to infection? | The skin, hair, mucous membranes, and endothelia |
What are chemical barriers to infection? | Sweat, mucus, tears, and saliva (all contain enzymes) |
Define inflammation | A process by which your body's white blood cells and the things they make protect you from infection from outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. |
Define humoral response | The immune response involving the transformation of B cells into plasma cells that produce and secrete antibodies to a specific antigen. |
Define prostaglandins | A group of lipids made at sites of tissue damage or infection that are involved in dealing with injury and illness |
Define vasodilation | The widening of blood vessels as a result of the relaxation of the blood vessel's muscular walls |
Define phagocytes | A type of immune cell that can surround and kill microorganisms, ingest foreign material, and remove dead cells. |
Define the complement system | The complement system helps or “complements” the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear pathogens from an organism. |
Define B lymphocytes | B lymphocytes are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They produce antibodes. |
Define the function of T lymphocytes | They are cells specifically designed to fight infections they have not yet encountered. |
What is the difference between T and B lymphocytes? | B cells produce antibodies, and T cells destroy infected cells. |
What is the difference between passive and active immunity? | In active immunity, a body produces its own antibodies; in passive immunity, a person receives pre-made antibodies. |