Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

BMS 212 > Chapter 16: Innate Nonspecific Host Defenses > Flashcards

Chapter 16: Innate Nonspecific Host Defenses Flashcards

1
Q

Skin Barrier

A

Composed of three layers of closely packed cells; one of the body’s most important physical barriers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Epidermis

A

Consists of cells that are tightly packed with keratin; makes the skin’s surface mechanically tough and resistant to degradation by bacterial enzymes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Mucous Membranes

A

Line the nose, mouth, lungs, and urinary and digestive tracts provide another nonspecific barrier against potential pathogens.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Epithelial Cells

A

Secrete a moist, sticky substance called mucus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Mucus

A

Covers and protects the more fragile cell layers beneath it and traps debris and particulate matter, including microbes; also contains antimicrobial peptides.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Ciliated Epithelial Cells

A

Have hair-like appendages known as cilia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Cilia

A

Movement of the cilia propels debris-laden mucus out and away from the lungs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Mucociliary Escalator

A

Moves debris-ridden mucus out of the body.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Goblet Cells

A

Secrete mucus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Peristalsis

A

A series of muscular contractions in the digestive tract.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Endothelia

A

The epithelial cells lining the urogenital tract, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and certain other tissues.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Mechanical Defenses

A

Physically remove pathogens from the body, preventing them from taking up residence.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Resident Microbiota

A

Serves as an important first-line defense against invading pathogens; prevents the critical early steps of pathogen attachment and proliferation required for the establishment of an infection.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Chemical Mediators

A

Encompasses a wide array of substances found in various body fluids and tissues throughout the body.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Lactoferrin

A

Inhibits microbial growth by chemically binding and sequestering iron; starves many microbes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Cerumen

A

Earwax; exhibits antimicrobial properties due to the presence of fatty acids, which lower the pH to between 3 and 5.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Antimicrobial Peptides

A

A special class of nonspecific mediators with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Defensins

A

Produced by epithelial cells throughout the body as well as by cellular defenses such as macrophages and neutrophils; they combat microorganisms by damaging their plasma membranes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Bacteriocins

A

Produced exogenously by certain members of the resident microbiota within the GI tract; disrupt cell membranes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Serum

A

The fluid portion of blood left over after coagulation (blood cell clotting) has taken place is serum.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Acute-Phase Proteins

A

Another class of antimicrobial mediators; primarily produced by the liver and secreted into the blood in response to inflammatory molecules from the immune system.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Complement System

A

A group of plasma protein mediators that can act as an innate nonspecific defense while also serving to connect innate and adaptive immunity.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Complement Activation

A

The process by which circulating precursors become functional.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Alternative Pathway

A

Initiated by the spontaneous activation of the complement protein C3; C3 attaches to the surface of these microbes and recruit other complement proteins in a cascade.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Classical Pathway

A

Provides a more efficient mechanism of activating the complement cascade, but it depends upon the production of antibodies by the specific adaptive immune defenses.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Lectin Activation Pathway

A

Similar to the classical pathway, but is triggered by the binding of mannose-binding lectin, an acute-phase protein, to carbohydrates on the microbial surface.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Opsonization

A

Refers to the coating of a pathogen by a chemical substance (called an opsonin) that allows phagocytic cells to recognize, engulf, and destroy it more easily.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Cytokines

A

Soluble proteins that act as communication signals between cells.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Autocrine Function

A

The same cell that releases the cytokine is the recipient of the signal.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Paracrine Function

A

Involves the release of cytokines from one cell to other nearby cells, stimulating some response from the recipient cells.

31
Q

Endocrine Function

A

Occurs when cells release cytokines into the bloodstream to be carried to target cells much farther away.

32
Q

Interleukins

A

Involved in modulating almost every function of the immune system; also produced and stimulate a variety of cells unrelated to immune defense.

33
Q

Chemokines

A

Chemotactic factors that recruit leukocytes to sites of infection, tissue damage, and inflammation.

34
Q

Type I Interferons

A

Produced and released by cells infected with virus; stimulate nearby cells to stop production of mRNA, destroy RNA already produced, and reduce protein synthesis.

35
Q

Type II Interferon

A

An important activator of immune cells.

36
Q

Leukotrienes

A

Lipid-based proinflammatory mediators that are produced from the metabolism of arachidonic acid in the cell membrane of leukocytes and tissue cells.

37
Q

Prostaglandins

A

Chemical mediators that promote the inflammatory effects of kinins and histamine; help set the body temperature higher, leading to fever.

38
Q

Bradykinin

A

Binds to receptors in cells in the capillary walls, causing the capillaries to dilate and become more permeable to fluids.

39
Q

Edema

A

Occurs when fluids and leukocytes leak out of the bloodstream and into tissues.

40
Q

Formed Elements

A

Elements found in blood so called because they are all formed from the same stem cells found in bone marrow.

41
Q

Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)

A

Primarily responsible for carrying oxygen to tissues.

42
Q

Platelets

A

Cellular fragments the participate in blood clot formation and tissue repairs.

43
Q

White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)

A

Participate in various nonspecific mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity.

44
Q

Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs)

A

What all the formed elements of blood are derived from.

45
Q

Hematopoiesis

A

The process of differentiation of cells into different types of blood cells.

46
Q

Granulocytes

A

Leukocytes characterized by numerous granules visible in the cytoplasm.

47
Q

Agranulocytes

A

Leukocytes characterized by a lack of granules.

48
Q

Neutrophils (PMNs)

A

Frequently involved in the elimination and destruction of extracellular bacteria.

49
Q

Degranulation

A

When many neutrophils are brought into an infected area, they can be stimulated to release toxic molecules into the surrounding tissue to better clear infectious agents.

50
Q

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs)

A

Extruded meshes of chromatin that are closely associated with antimicrobial granule proteins and components.

51
Q

Pus

A

A visible accumulation of leukocytes, cellular debris, and bacteria at the site of infection.

52
Q

Eosinophils

A

Protect against protozoa and helminths; they also play a role in allergic reactions.

53
Q

Major Basic Protein (MBP)

A

Binds to the surface carbohydrates of parasites, and this binding is associated with disruption of the cell membrane and membrane permeability.

54
Q

Basophils

A

Important in allergic reactions and other responses that involve inflammation.

55
Q

Mast Cells

A

Derived from the same common myeloid progenitor cell as neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils; leave the circulating blood and are most frequently found residing in tissues.

56
Q

Agranulocytes

A

Lack visible granules in the cytoplasm.

57
Q

Natural Killer Cells

A

Mononuclear lymphocytes use nonspecific mechanisms to recognize and destroy cells that are abnormal in some way.

58
Q

Monocytes

A

Effective phagocytes, engulfing pathogens and apoptotic cells to help fight infection.

59
Q

Phagocytosis

A

When the pathogen is engulfed in a vesicle and brought into the internal compartment of the phagocytes.

60
Q

Extravasation/Diapedesis

A

Blood cells passing through the walls of small capillary blood vessels within tissues to reach pathogens located in infected tissue.

61
Q

Transendothelial Migration

A

When blood cells reach a cellular junction and bind to more adhesion molecules, flattening out and squeezing through the cellular junction.

62
Q

Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs)

A

How phagocytes can recognize molecular structures that are common to many groups of pathogenic microbes.

63
Q

Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs)

A

The structures that allow phagocytic cells to detect PAMPs.

64
Q

Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs)

A

Bind to various PAMPs and communicate with the nucleus of the phagocytes to elicit a response.

65
Q

Phagosome

A

A membrane vesicle containing the pathogen undergoing phagocytosis.

66
Q

Phagolysosome

A

When the phagosome containing the pathogen fuses with one or more lysosomes.

67
Q

Respiratory Burst

A

When phagocytes will increase their uptake and consumption of oxygen, but not for energy production.

68
Q

Inflammation

A

Triggered by a cascade of chemical mediators and cellular responses that may occur when cells are damaged and stressed or when pathogens successfully breach the physical barriers of the innate immune system.

69
Q

Bradykinin

A

Causes capillaries to remain dilated, flooding tissues with fluids and leading to edema.

70
Q

Fever

A

An inflammatory response that extends beyond the site of infection and affects the entire body, resulting in an overall increase in body temperature.

71
Q

Pyrogens

A

Chemicals that effectively alter the “thermostat setting” of the hypothalamus to elevate body temperature and cause fever.

72
Q

Crisis Phase

A

When the fever breaks; the hypothalamus stimulates vasodilation and sweating to cool the body down.

73
Q

Superantigens

A

Bacterial or viral proteins that can cause an excessive activation of T cells from the specific adaptive immune defense, as well as an excessive release of cytokines that overstimulates the inflammatory response.

BMS 212 (24 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions