defence against disease Flashcards
what are the bodies natural barriers and how do they work?
-skin (acts as a natural barrier)
-nose hairs and mucus (traps microrganisms)
-sillia (wafts mucus in the trachea of bronci that has trapped mucus upwards)
-hydrochloric acid (acid in the stomach kills pathogens)
-scabs (when theres a cut the blood clots and is followed by a scab to prevent entry of pathogens)
-tears (tears in the eyes contain the lysozyme enzymes which kills pathogens)
-white blood cells
how do white blood cells produce antibodies to destroy pathogens?
when pathogens are detected the lymphoctyes produce antibodies. When the antibody with the complementary shape to the antigen is produced the lymphocytes mass produce that antibody.
how are white blood cells adapted to defend against diseases?
-they ingest and engulf pathogens (this process is called phagocytosis)
-the produce antitoxins to neutralise the toxins (poisons) produced by pathogens
-they produce antibodies that bind to the antigens destroying specific pathogens
what is phagocytosis?
the process of the white blood cell surrounding and engulfing the pathogen
what do antitoxins bind to?
the toxins
what is in a vaccination?
a dead or inactive form of a pathogen
who first developed the vaccine?
edward jenner
how does a vaccine work?
a weakened or harmless version of a pathogen is injected into the body
white blood cell respond to the prescence of the pathogen by producing antibodies
the white blood cells identify an antibody which will destroy the pathogen (has a complementary shape to the antigen)
they then mass produce this antibody so your body is now ready to repulse a real attack by that pathogen
memory cells are made so if you come into contact with this pathogen the body will remember and the WBC will mass produce that antibody
why do pathogens make us feel ill?
they infect our cells and cause damage to them
what is the MMR vaccine?
a vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella
