Immune system Flashcards
What are the 2 components to human defence systems?
-White Blood cells (Lymphocytes and Phagocytes)
-Physical and chemical barriers (Skin, Nose)
What are the 2 types of White Blood Cell?
Lymphocyte and Phagocyte.
What is the role of the immune system?
Kills Pathogens in the body
What is a pathogen
An organism that can cause disease
How does the nose prevent pathogens from entering body?
It has lots of little hairs and mucus in order to trap the pathogens.
How does the Trachea/Oesophagus prevent pathogens from entering the body?
The bronchi and bronchioles are covered in mucus to trap pathogens
-They are also lined with cilia to slowly move mucus back up to the back of the throat.
What acid does the stomach produce?
Hydrochloric acid (pH around 2)
Why is stomach acid important
Because it can kill most pathogens, however some survive.
What are the three functions of white blood cells?
Phagocytosis, Producing antitoxins and producing antibodies.
What happens during Phagocytosis
Phagocytes engulf pathogens, by tracking the pathogen down and binding on it.
What is a toxin?
Small ‘poisons’ that can damage cells.
What are anti-toxins?
They can bind to toxins and counteract them.
What is an antibody?
Small proteins that lock on to foreign antigens
-They act as signals to tell pathogens to engulf them.
What is an antigen?
Anything our immune system deems as foreign
What do Lymphocytes produce?
Antibodies
Why are Phagocytes non-specific
Because they will attack anything that isn’t meant to be in the body.
Each antibody is ______ to each antigen
Specific
What is produced alongside with antibodies when Lymphocytes mark pathogens?
Memory cells
What are the role of memory cells?
To detect when the same type of pathogen enters the body again, to speed up the production of antibodies by producing more in less time.
How does vaccination prevent you from future infections?
-Inject dead or weakened pathogens into the body
-Lymphocytes then mark the pathogen and produce specific antibodies for the antigens the pathogen carries.
-Antibodies attack antigens and kill them
-Memory cells are created so now the person is immune to that specific pathogen.
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