How the body protects itself from pathogens Flashcards
Why is healthy skin covered in mircroorganisms?
They act as an extra barrier against pathogens
How does the skin prevent pathogens from reaching the tissues beneath?
It has a thick outer layer of dead cells with a protein called keratin, which is diffucult to penentrate.
What does your skin produce to destroy pathogenic bacteria?
Antimicrobial secretions
What happens when you cut your skin?
You bleed and platelets in your set up a chain of events which results in you forming a clot, which eventually forms a scab
What is the function of the hair and mucus in the nose?
They trap particles in the air that may contain pathogens or irritate the lungs
What is the purpose of white blood cells in the nose?
They desrtoy the cold virus and any virus trapped in the mucus of your nose when you have a cold
How do the trachea bronchi and alimentary canal protect you from pathogens?
They secrete a mucus that traps pathogens from the air.
Their linings are covered in cilia, which beat to move mucus up to the back of the throat where it is swallowed.
How does the stomach protext you from pathogens?
It produces an acid that destroys microorganisms in the mucus you swallow.
The acid kills majority of the pathogens taking in through the mouth through food and drink
How do white blood cells protect you from pathogens?
Phagocytes digest pathogens by phagocytosis.
Lymphocytes produce chemicals called antibodies that incapacitate or directly kill pathogens.
White blood cells produce antitoxins
