How does the Immune System Work Flashcards
A network of cells/tissues/organs working in unison to defend the body againsts foreign invaders.
Immune system
Anything that triggers an immune response (i.e. microbes, parts of microbes, tissues/cell of another person)
Antigen
Result of the immune system mistaking self for nonself thus inducing an improper immune response.
Autoimmune disease
Antigen induces an immune response to a seemingless harmless foreign substance (i.e. results in allergies).
Allergen
Small white blood cells that are the key players in the immune system.
Lymphocytes
Soft tissue in the hollow center of bones, source of all blood cells.
Bone marrow
Organ that lies behind the breastbone,site of T cell maturation
Thymus
Clear fluid that bathes the body’s tissues, carried through lymphatic vessels.
Lymph
Flattened organ, upper left of the abdomen, serves as a fighting ground where immune defenses confront antigens.
Spleen
Methods of communication (i.e. between immune cells)
Direct cell-to-cell contact or via the release of chemical messengers
Lymphocyte, attacks target cells (i.e. cells that have been infected with a virus or distorted by cancer)
T lymphocytes
Large family of molecules which antibodies are a part of.
Immunoglobins
Immunoglobin, works efficiently to coat microbes, expedites uptake by other cells in the immune system.
Immunoglobin G (IgG)
Immunoglobin, effective at killing bacteria.
Immunoglobin M (IgM)
Immunoglobin, concentrates in body fluids (i.e. tears/saliva/secretions of the respiratory tract and digestive tract), guards the entrances to the body.
Immunoglobin A (IgA)
Immunoglobin, natural job is to protect against parasitic infections, responsible for allergies.
Immunoglobin E (IgE)
Immunoglobin, attached to B cells and play a key role in initiating early B-cell response.
Immunoglobin D (IgD)
Two major ways T cells contribute to immune defenses.
Direct/Regulate immune response and directly attack infected/cancerous cells
T cell, coordinate immune response by communicating with other cells (i.e. can stimulate nearby B cells to prod, antibody/phagocytes/other T cells)
Helper T cells (Th cells)
T cells, directly attck other cells carrying certain foreign or abnormal molecules on their surfaces.
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes
Proteins recognized by T cells when distinguishing between self and nonself.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
Lymphocyte, armed with granules, can recognize cells lacking self-MHC molecules (i.e. can attack many types of foreign cells)
Natural killer cells (NK)
Phagocytes that circulate in the blood.
Monocytes
Develop when monocytes migrate into the tissues.
Macrophages
Roles of macrophages.
Scavenge and rid to body of debris (i.e. worn out cells), present antigen to other lymphocytes, produce monokines.
Granulocyte, not a blood cell, responsible for the symptoms of allergy.
Mast cell
Cytokine, triggers the immue system to produce T cells.
Interleukin 2 (IL-2)
The tendency for T/B cells to ignore the body’s own tissues.
Immune tolerance
When an individual is born lacking all of their major immune defenses.
Severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID)
Uncontrolable proliferation of white blood cells.
Leukemia
Uncontrolled growth of plasma cells.
Multiple myeloma
Cancers of the lymphoid organs.
Lymphoma
Proteins, stimulates specific/general immune cells as well as coordinates immune responses and inflammation.
Chemokines
Cells that are make up the epithelium (i.e. the covering of internal and external body surfaces)
Epithelial cells
An immune responds against a transplanted tissue.
Graft rejection
A life-threatening response, translplant cells attack the tissues of the recipient
Graft-versus host disease (GVHD)
Proteins, produced by cells to stimualte an anti-viral immune response or to alter the physical properties of immune cells.
Interferons
A subset of T cells and B cells that have been exposed to antigens and can then respond more readily when the immune system encounters those same antigens again
Memory cells
