Chapters 39 & 30: Circulation and Immunity Flashcards
white blood cell
An eosinophil, neutrophil, macrophage, T or B cell, or other leukocyte which, with chemical mediator, counters tissue invasion and tissue damage. Different kinds take part in nonspecific and specific defense responses. Some (e.g., eosinophils) are fast-acting. Some (e.g., macrophages) take part in sustained immune responses.
reabsorption
Movement of interstitial fluid into a blood capillary.
plasma
Liquid portion of blood; mainly water in which ions, diverse proteins, sugars, gases, and other substances are dissolved.
circulatory system
Organ system that moves substances to and from cells, and often helps stabilize body temperature and pH. Typically consists of a heart, blood vessels, and blood.
hemostasis
Process that stops blood loss from damaged blood vessel; involves coagulation, blood vessel spasm, platelet plug formation, and other mechanisms.
systemic circuit
Cardiovascular route of vertebrates; oxygen-enriched blood flows from the heart through the rest of the body (where it gives up oxygen and takes up carbon dioxide), then flows back to the heart.
hypertension
High blood pressure.
hemoglobin
Iron-containing, blood-transporting protein of red blood cells.
sinoatrial node (SA node)
Bundle of self-excitatory cardiac muscle cells that act as the normal pacemaker of the heart.
capillary
Blood vessel with the smallest diameter and endothelial wall; has role in exchange of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and other solutes between blood and interstitial fluid.
stem cells
Self-perpetuating animal cells that stay unspecialized. Some of their daughter cells also are self-perpetuating; others differentiate into specialized cells (e.g., red blood cells that arise from stem cells in bone marrow).
diastole
The period of cardiac relaxation and filling.
edema
Swelling of tissues as a result of excess interstitial fluid.
artery
Large-diameter rapid-transport vessel with thick, muscular wall; smooths out blood pressure pulses caused by heart contractions.
vasodilation
Enlargement of blood vessel diameter.
lymph
Tissue fluid that has drained into vessels of lymphatic system.
atrioventricular node (AV node)
Bundle of specialized cardiac cells located at the junction of the atria and ventricles that serves as the site of electrical conduction between the atria and ventricles.
lymph node
Lymphoid organ that serves as a battleground for immune responses. Organized arrays of lymphocytes packed inside it cleanse lymph before it can reach the bloodstream.
aorta
First, main artery of systemic circulation; rapidly transports the volume of blood that ventricular contractions drive into it.
leukocyte
White blood cell; an eosinophil, neutrophil, macrophage, T or B cell.
ventricle
Of the vertebrate heart, one of the two chambers from which blood is pumped out of the heart.
vasoconstriction
Contraction of arterioles.
arrhythmia
Irregular heart rhythm.
interstitial fluid
Of animals, the portion of extracellular fluid occupying the spaces between cells and tissues.
pulmonary circuit
Vertebrate cardiovascular route in which oxygen-poor blood flows from the heart to the lungs, where it is oxygenated before flowing back to the heart.
electrocardiogram (ECG)
The graphic record of the electrical activity that reaches the surface of the body as a result of cardiac depolarization and repolarization.
baroreceptor reflex
A reflex response that influences the heart and blood vessels to oppose a change in mean arterial blood pressure.
low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
Cholesterol bound to proteins; high levels are associated with a higher risk of heart disease.
cardiac pacemaker
Sinoatrial (SA) node; basis of normal rate of heartbeat. Self-excitatory cardiac muscle cells spontaneously generate rhythmic waves of excitation over heart.
blood
Fluid connective tissue of water, solutes, and formed elements (blood cells and platelets).
thymus gland
Lymphoid organ with endocrine functions. Lymphocytes of the immune system multiply, differentiate, and mature in its tissues; its hormone secretions affect their functioning.
lymphatic system
Supplement to vertebrate circulatory system. Its vessels deliver fluid and solutes from interstitial fluid to blood; its lymphoid organs have roles in body defenses
blood pressure
Fluid pressure, generated by heart contractions, that circulates blood.
Purkinje fibers
Fibers that transmit an action potential throughout the muscle of the ventricles.
spleen
A lymphoid organ that is a filtering station for blood, reservoir of red blood cells, and reservoir of macrophages.
agglutination
Antibodies circulating in blood recognize nonself markers and cause bearers of those markers to clump together, making them more easily destroyed by phagocytes. Potential problem in recipients of transfused blood of a different type.
heart
Muscular pump; its contractions keep blood circulating through the animal body
vein
Any of the large-diameter vessels that lead back to the heart.
diastolic pressure
Lowest pressure when the ventricle is relaxed and filling with blood.
blood transfusions
Infusion of blood from one person to another.
atherosclerosis
A progressive, degenerative arterial disease that leads to gradual blockage of the vessels, thereby reducing blood flow through them.
ultrafiltration
Movement of a small amount of protein-free plasma out of a blood capillary.
atrium
Of the vertebrate heart, one of the two chambers that receives blood from the veins and transfers it to the ventricles.
cardiac cycle
Sequence of muscle contraction and relaxation in one heartbeat.
erythrocyte
Red blood cell; functions in rapid transport of oxygen in blood.
bulk flow
In response to a pressure gradient, a movement of more than one kind of molecule in the same direction, in the same medium, as in blood, sap, or air.
systolic pressure
Peak pressure that the contracting ventricles exert against an artery’s wall during the cardiac cycle.
Rh blood typing
Method of characterizing red blood cells according to a self-marker protein at their surface. Rh* cells have it; Rh- cells do not.
ABO blood typing
Method of using proteins A, B, or both at surface of red blood cells to characterize an individual’s blood. O signifies absence of both proteins.
lymph vascular system
Parts of lymphatic system that take up excess tissue fluid, absorbed fats, and reclaimable solutes for delivery to the bloodstream.
cardiac conduction system
Cardiac muscle cells that do not contract but instead initiate and transmit waves of excitation.
cardiac muscle
The specialized muscle tissue found only in the heart.
lymph capillary system
Small-diameter vessel at which tissue fluid moves into lymph vascular system.
anemias
Disorder that results from too few red blood cells or deformed ones.
venule
A small blood vessel that accepts blood from capillaries and delivers it to a vein
platelet
Fragment of megakaryocyte that releases substances used in clot formation.
arteriole
Blood vessel continuous with arteries and capillaries; site of control over distribution of blood volume through body.
capillary bed
Diffusion zone, consisting of great numbers of capillaries, where flood and interstitial fluid exchange substances.
red blood cell
Erythrocyte. Cell that serves in rapid transport of oxygen in blood.
cell count
The number of cells of a given type in one microliter of blood.
systole
The period of cardiac contraction and emptying.
high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
Excess cholesterol bound to proteins; high levels are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
mast cell
Basophil-like cell; it releases histamine during tissue inflammation
apoptosis
Programmed cell death. Molecular signals activate weapons of self-destruction in body cells that finished their prescribed functions or became altered, as by infection or cancerous transformation.
acute inflammation
Nonspecific response involving phagocytes, complement proteins, and other plasma proteins.
macrophage
Phagocytic white blood cell; roles in nonspecific defenses and immune responses. One of the key antigen-presenting cells.
eosinophil
Fast-acting white blood cell; its enzyme secretions digest holes in parasitic worms during an inflammatory response.
thymus gland
A lymphoid organ that has endocrine functions. T cells multiply, differentiate, and mature in its tissues.
lysozyme
Infection-fighting enzyme in mucous membranes.
immunological specificity
The clonal descendants of an antigen-selected cell will react only with the selecting antigen.
immunoglobulin (Ig)
One of five classes of antibodies, each with antigen-binding sites as well as other sites with specialized functions.
natural killer cell
Cytotoxic lymphocyte that reconnoiters for tumor cells and virus-infected cells, then touch-kills them.
antigen
Any molecular configuration that triggers an immune response. Most are proteins at the surface of pathogens or tumor cells.
complement system
Set of proteins circulating in inactive form in vertebrate blood. Different kinds promote inflammation, induce lysis of pathogens, and stimulate phagocytes during nonspecific defenses and immune responses.
histamine
Chemical released by mast cells and basophils; brings about vasodilation and increased capillary permeability.
immunological memory
The capacity of the immune system to make a secondary (faster, greater) immune response to a pathogen that caused a primary response in an individual.
MHC marker
Self-marker protein. Some are on all body cells of an individual; others are unique to macrophages and lymphocytes.
cytotoxic T cell
T lymphocyte that touch-kills infected or altered body cells (e.g., cancer cells)
immunization
A variety of processes that promote increased immunity against specific diseases.
autoimmune response
Misdirected immune response in which lymphocytes mount an attack against normal body cells.
antibody
Antigen-binding receptor. Only B cells make them, then position them at their surface or secrete them.
T-cell receptors
Antigen-specific receptors on the surface of mature T lymphocytes.
lysis
Gross damage to a plasma membrane, cell wall, or both that allows the cytoplasm to leak out; causes cell death.
vaccine
An antigen-containing preparation, swallowed or injected, that increases immunity to certain diseases by inducing formation of armies of effector and memory B and T cells.
reverse transcriptase
An enzyme from RNA viruses that catalyzes transcription in reverse; assembles a complementary DNA strand on an mRNA transcript.
acute inflammation
Rapid response to tissue injury by phagocytes and diverse proteins (e.g., histamine, complement, clotting factors). Signs include localized redness, heat, swelling, pain.
allergy
Hypersensitivity to an allergen.
fever
Any core temperature higher than the set point in the hypothalamic region that functions as the body’s thermostat.
allergen
Any normally harmless substance that provokes inflammation, excess mucus excretion, and often immune responses.
immune system
Body defense system characterized by specificity and immunological memory.
antigen-MHC complexes
Antigen fragments bound to MHC proteins at a cell’s surface.
basophil
Fast-acting white blood cell; its secretions (e.g., histamine) cause vasodilation during an inflammatory response.
pathogen
Any virus, bacterium, fungus, protistan, or parasitic worm that can infect an organism, multiply inside it, and cause disease.
antigen-presenting cell
Cell bearing processed antigen fragments bound with MHC molecules at its surface, the recognition of which promotes cell divisions for immune responses.
B lymphocyte (B cell)
Only cell that produces antibodies. Key player in immune responses.
helper T cell
T lymphocyte with central roles in antibody-mediated and cell-mediated immune responses. When activated, it makes and secretes chemicals that induce responsive T and B cells to undergo rapid divisions into populations of effector and memory cells.
vaccination
An immunization procedure against a specific pathogen.
T lymphocyte (T cell)
White blood cell that completes its development in the thymus where it acquires a TCR that will recognize and bind to a particular antigen-MHC complex.
memory cell
B or T cell that forms during an immune response but that does not act at once; it enters a resting phase, from which it is released during a secondary immune response.
neutrophil
The most abundant, fastest-acting white blood cell; it phagocytizes bacteria.
interleukin
Produced by helper T cells when activated
Activate B cells (in presence of MHC-antigen complex)
IgM
First to be secreted during immune response
Triggers complement cascade
IgG
Activate complement proteins
Neutralize toxins
Long lasting
Can cross placenta and protect fetus
IgA
Saliva, tears, mucus
Repel invaders at start of respiratory system
IgE
Stimulate basophils and mast cells to secrete histamine
Clonal selection hypothesis
A lymphocyte activated by a specific antigen will divide and give rise to a clone of cells that are specific only to that antigen
Grave’s disorder
Overproduction of thyroid hormones
Elevated metabolic rates, heart fibrillations, nervousness, weight loss
Myasthenia gravis
Antibodies are directed against acetylochine receptors on skeletal muscle cells causing weakness
Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflammation of the joints caused by antibody that treats the body’s IgG as antigens
Monoclonal antibodies are produced by cells that are:
Antibody-producing B cells fused with cells from a B cell tumor
