Chapter 16: The Immune System, Antibiotics, and Drug Therapy Flashcards
Immune System
AC
A complex system made up of specialized organs, ducts, cells, and proteins; responsible for fighting infections and protecting the body.
Bone Marrow
AC
The spongey material inside bones that is responsible for white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
Lymphatic System
AC
The network of tubes and lymph nodes throughout the body.
Spleen
AC
An organ that filters blood and removes microbes and damaged red blood cells.
Pathogen
AC
A microorganism, such as a bacteria or virus, capable of causing an infection or disease.
Innate Immune System
AC
The immune system a person is born with, which orchestrates the body’s automatic response to pathogens and provides nonspecific immunity.
Nonspecific Immunity
AC
The type of immunity provided by the innate immune system, which responds similarly to all pathogens; also known as innate immunity.
Complement System
AC
A collection of proteins that trigger one another in a chain reaction to enhance the immune system by attracting inflammatory cells, marking some bacteria for destruction by phagocytes. killing other pathogenic microbes directly, and clearing immune complexes from the body.
Phagocytosis
AC
The process by phagocytes engulf and usually destroy pathogens and other particulate matter.
Adaptive Immune System
AC
System within the body that learns and remembers specific pathogens it has encountered and provides long-lasting protection and defense against recurring infections; also known as the acquired immune system.
Antibody
AC
A Y-shaped protein that recognizes and then binds to a specific type of antigen after the immune system has been exposed to that antigen.
Antigen
AC
A molecule or molecular structure, often found on the surfaces of pathogens such as bacteria or viruses; elicits an immune response and can bind with an antibody, T cell, or other product of that response.
Bacteria
AC
Single-celled microorganisms that exist in three primary forms: spherical (cocci), rod shaped (bacilli) and spiral (spirilla).
Pathogenic
AC
Causing or capable of causing disease or infection.
Bacterial Infection
AC
A condition in which bacteria grow in body tissues and cause tissue damage to the host either by their presence or by toxins they produce.
Aerobic
AC
Needing oxygen in order to survive.
Anaerobic
AC
Capable of surviving in the absence of oxygen.
Spectrum of Activity
AC
The range of bacteria against which an agent is effective.
Culture and Sensitivity Test (C&S test)
AC
A laboratory test that helps determine which antibodies have the best effect on a pathogen culture.
Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)
AC
The lowest concentration of an antibiotic needed to inhibit the growth of a bacteria.
Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic
AC
An antibiotic that is effective against multiple organisms.
Empirical Treatment
AC
Use of a medication to treat a patient before the specific microorganism causing their infection is identified.
Nosocomial Infection
AC
An infection acquired by a patient in a hospital or nursing home.
Bactericidal Agent
AC
A drug that kills bacteria.
Bacteriostatic Agent
AC
A drug that inhibits the growth or multiplication of bacteria.
Antibiotic Resistance
AC
The development by bacteria of defense mechanisms that resist, or inactive antibiotic used on those bacteria
Antiseptic
AC
A substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the outside of the body.