Immune System Flashcards
What does plasma consist of?
Plasma proteins, glucose, vitamins, minerals, dissolved gases and waste products such as CO2
What does blood consist of?
45% hematocrit (red blood cells)
1% white blood cells
55% plasma
What do plasma proteins help maintain?
Homeostasis (balance)
How many types of plasma proteins are there and what are they?
Three types
Albumins, globulins, fibrinogens
What do albumins, globulins, and fibrinogens do?
Albumins establish osmotic pressure in the capillaries
Globulins help provide protection
Fibrinogens are important in blood clotting
What are the functions of blood?
Transport of gases, nutrients etc. Maintaining water balance Maintaining body temp Maintaining a pH Protection from disease
What are erythrocytes
RBCs
What are the functions of erythrocytes
How long do they live?
O2 transport
No nucleus,
Live 120 days, and then are broken down by the river
Where is blood first made?
What is this process called?
What do all RBCs begin as?
In the bone marrow
Erythropoisesis
Begin as stem cells
How does an RBC age?
What monitors the age of RBCs
The outer membrane becomes brittle, causing them to rupture in the capillaries
Specialized white blood cells in the liver and spleen
What happens when there is low oxygen at high altitudes
Kidneys release renal erythropoietic factor(REF)
REF combines with liver globulins to make erythropoietin, beginning RBC production
Increased amount of RBCs increases the amount of O2 bring delivered to cells
What is anemia
Low energy levels and low hemoglobin or RBC
What are causes of anemia
Hemmorage
Physical injury
Bleeding ulcers
Or low iron
What are leukocytes
Do they have a nucleus?
Where are they made
White blood cells
Yes
Bone marrow
What are the functions of WBCs
Destroy invading microbes
Produce antibodies
What is diapedesis
Dead WBC, dead microbes and remaining proteins = pus
What are platelets also called
Do they contain a nucleus
Where are they produced
What do they play an important role in?
Thrombocytes
No
Bone marrow
Clotting
Is blood clotting good or bad
What is thrombus
Prevent blood loss, but can also be life threatening
Large blood clots that block blood vessels
What is embolus
Is it good or bad
A dislodged clot
Life threatening because it can be lodged in a vital organ
Ex: cerebral embolism
Clotting steps (detailed)
- Platelets stick to injured site and change shape (from round to spiny
They release a substance that attracts more platelets and thromboplastin - Thromboplastin activates a plasma protein prothrombin
- Prothrombin transformed to thrombin
- Thrombin slices a plasma protein fibrinogen into fibrin threads
- fibrin threads wrap around damaged area
- RBCs and more platelets become trapped and the clot is formed
Clotting steps (concise)
Platelets rupture Release of thromboplastin Conversion of prothrombin to thrombin Fibrinogen in plasma Converted to fibrin threads Clot
How many types of leukocytes are there and what are they?
Two types
Granulocytes- those with granules
Agranulocytes- those without granules
What is fluosol
Artificial blood
non-toxic liquid that contains fluorine
Advantages of fluosol
requires no blood matching
Can be stored for long periods of time
Does not need to be screened
Fluosol disadvantages
Can’t form clots
Offers no immunity
How many blood types are there and what are they?
How is blood type determined
Are they inherited from parents or randomly generated
Four types: A B AB O
Glycogen proteins attached to the cell membrane of red blood cells
Inherited
Describe type A blood
Type B
Type AB
Type O
A has A glycoprotein/marker
B has B glycoprotein/maker
AB has both A marker & B marker is the universal recipient
O has no marker & universal donor
blood type, what type it can recieve, and what types it can donate to
A - receive A,O donate to A,AB
B - receive B,O donate to B,AB
AB - receive all donate to AB
O - receive O donate to all
What happens if you receive the wrong blood
Antibodies produced by WBCs trap blood cells by attaching to the antigen
Blood cells clump, resulting in agglutination
Agglutination clogs capillaries
What is Rhesus factor
Is it inherited
What does Rhesus positive mean
What does Rhesus negative mean
Antigen on RBCs
Yes
You have the antigen
You don’t have the antigen and can donate to Rh+
What is erythroblastosis fetalis
Mother having Rh- while baby has Rh+
During second pregnancy, Rh- mom makes antibodies against the Rh+ child
antigen and antibodies combine causing the blood to clump… starving developing tissues of oxygen
What is erythroblastosis fetalis also called
Blue baby condition
What does the immune system do
Protect against threats in our environment
How many types of immunity and what are they
Innate, which you are born with
Acquired, which you develop throughout your life
What is the first line of defence
What does the skin do to kill bacteria
What do the mucous membranes secrete
Barriers such as: cilia, HCL, skin and mucous membranes
Has acidic secretions
tears, saliva, perspiration
All contain lysozyme an antimicrobial enzyme that destroys the cell walls
What does the second line if defence include?
Neutrophils and macrophages
What do macrophages do
Engulf invading organisms by phagocytosis
Display the foreign antigen on their membrane
What so neutrophils do
Are attracted to a signal damaged cells give off and migrate towards them
Engulf the microbe and macrophage
What is the third life of defence
Very specific Complement proteins (serum proteins) aggregate to initiate an attack on the cell membranes of fungal or bacterial cells
What do first group, second group, and third group do
1st group seals invader
2nd group punctures wall
3rd group attaches to the invader to attract leukocytes
What do T cells do?
contain the blue prints for antibodies
search for invaders
signal the attack
What do helper T cells do
Read the antigens shape and release lymphokine
What are antibodies
What are antigens
y shaped proteins that bind to specific antigen markers on other cells
Protein markers that are found on the cell membranes of most cells
What happens when antibodies attach to the antigen markers
What does this do
The form an antigen – antibody complex
It ties up invaders so they can’t damage ourselves
What will macrophages do to the antigen-antibody complex
Engulf and destroy it
What do suppressor T cells do
What cells do the immune system make
What do these cells do
Inhibit the immune response
Memory B&T cells
Recognize the invader if it returns
What do viruses do
Use receptor sites as entry port
Inject DNA material into the cell but leave the protein coat at the receptor site
What are two problems caused by the malfunction of the immune system
Immunodeficiency diseases
Inappropriate or exaggerated immune response
What is an example of the immunodeficiency disease
HIV - This virus targets T cells
What is an example of inappropriate or exaggerated immune response
Allergies or autoimmune diseases
When do allergies occur
When your immune system mistakes harmless antigens for harmful invaders
How do the bodies try to get rid of harmless antigens when you have an allergy
Releasing histamine which causes irritation
Secreting tears or mucus
Coughing
What is an anaphylactic reaction
What happens
I severe allergies that can occur quickly or be delayed
Large amounts of histamine is released by the body
What happens during auto immune disease
What is it believed to be caused by
The immune system can’t distinguish between self and nonself and attacks its own tissues/organs
Mutated T cells and B cells
What are some examples of autoimmune disease
Rheumatoid arthritis, type one diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis
What is the main challenge during organ transplant rejection
Tissue rejection
What are stem cells
Pluripotent cells that can give rise to any type of cells
