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Immune System Flashcards

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1
Q

What are communicable/infectious/transmissible diseases caused by? What are these diseases spread by?

A

Foreign organisms called pathogens; some are contagious. They are spread by bacteria, viruses, fungi and vectors.

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2
Q

What are bacteria? Are all bacteria pathogenic? How do we classify them?

A

They are single cell organisms which are not harmful in fact majority are harmless. They are classified through cell shape.

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3
Q

What does the typical structure of a bacterial cell look like?

A
  • Capsule
  • Slime layer (outside)
  • Cell wall
  • DNA
  • Cell membrane
  • Flagella
  • Cytoplasm
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4
Q

What are the four main shapes of bacterial cells? What do they look like?

A
  • Cocci/Coccus; spherical cells which occur singly, in pairs (diplococci), in clusters (staphylococci) or in chains (streptococci)
  • Bacilli; they are rod shaped and have flagella movement
  • Spirilla; twisted cells
  • Vibrio; curved robs (similar to a comma)
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5
Q

What do viruses look like?

A

Whilst they have distinctive structures and differing sizes, they all either DNA or RNA. Around the nucleic acid is a protein coat, some have additional envelope of lipid and protein molecules

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6
Q

How do viruses make people sick?

A

They inject their DNA/RNA into a living cell and make the cell manufactured more virus particles, which then infect more and more body cells.

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7
Q

What are some well-known bacterial diseases?

A
  • Bubonic plague
  • Chlamydia
  • Gonorrhoea
  • Leprosy
  • Pneumonia
  • Syphilis
  • Tetanus
  • Tuberculosis
  • Whooping cough
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8
Q

What are some well-known viral diseases?

A
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Bird Flu
  • Chickenpox
  • Cold sores/Herpes
  • Colds
  • Ebola
  • Hepatitis A/B/C/D/E/G
  • Influenza
  • Measles
  • Meningitis
  • Mumps
  • Rabies
  • Ross River
  • Rubella
  • Shingles
  • Smallpox
  • Warts
  • Yellow fever
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9
Q

What are some well-known fungal diseases?

A
  • Ringworm
  • Thrush
  • Tinea
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10
Q

What are some well-known vectorial diseases?

A
  • Malaria
  • Tapeworms
  • Lice
  • Scabies
  • Ticks
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11
Q

What are some ways to transmit pathogens?

A
  • Transmission by contact: actual physical contact (direct or indirect)(skin infections/STIs)
  • Transfer of body fluids: blood/bodily fluids of infected person come in contacted with the mucous membranes/bloodstream of an uninfected person (HIV/Hepatitis B/C)
  • Infection by droplets: tiny droplets of moisture breathed/ingested by others (sneezing/coughing/breathing/talking)(Viral infections; measles/mumps/colds/flus)
  • Ingestion: contaminated food/drink (Dysentery/typhoid/salmonella)
  • Airborne transmission: moisture in exhaled droplets evaporate leaving pathogens behind which can be inhaled
  • Transmission by vectors: transfer from animals (insects, ticks, mites), some are direct (houseflies - food/water) or specific (malaria - mosquitos, lyme disease - ticks)
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12
Q

What are non-specific defences?

A

They are the body’s first line of defence, they work against all pathogens.

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13
Q

What are the 8 external non-specific defences?

A
  • Skin: stops entry of micro-organisms (provided it isn’t broken: no cuts etc), sweat contains salts and fatty acids which prevent growth of many organisms, sebrum (which is an oily secretion) contains substances which kill some pathogens
  • Mucous membrane: lines body cavities that open to the exterior, secretes mucous (inhibiting entry) (digestive/urinary/reproductive tracts are protected like this)
  • Hairs: found in the nose and ear trap particles
  • Cilia: tiny hairs that have a beating motion, moving out particles trapped in mucus
  • Acids: HCl in stomach kill bacteria in ingested foods/mucus. The vagina acid reduces growth of organisms. Sweat is slightly acidic
  • Lysozyme: an enzyme that kills bacteria, it is found in tears (eyes), saliva, sweat, secretions of the noise and tissue fluid
  • Cerumen (ear wax): protects outer ear, it is slightly acidic and contains lysozyme
  • Flushing actions: of body fluids; urine flowing through urethra; prevents bacteria from reaching bladder and kidneys, tears/sweat/saliva are also flushing actions
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14
Q

What is a reflex?

A

It is an automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus.

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15
Q

What do protective reflexes do?

A

Help to protect the body from injury.

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16
Q

What are the four protective reflexes?

A
  • Sneezing: caused by irritation of the walls of the nasal cavity, forceful explosion of air from the lungs (carries mucus, foreign particles and gases) through the nose and mouth
  • Coughing: caused by irritations in the lower respiratory tract (bronchi/bronchioles), air is forced from the lungs (see sneezing)
  • Vomiting: can be psychological, or caused by excessive stretching of the stomach and bacterial toxins, contractions of the abdomen muscles and diaphragm help expel stomach contents
  • Diarrhoea: caused by irritation of the small/large intestine by bacteria/viruses/protozoans, causes increased contractions of the muscles (in the intestines), the material does not stay in the large intestine for long enough which is why it is so watery
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17
Q

What are phagocytes? What defence are they apart of?

A

They are cells that can engulf and digest micro-organisms and cell debris. They are apart of the internal non-specific defence system.

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18
Q

What are leucocytes? What do they do? Where are they made?

A

They are white blood cells. They leave blood capillaries and move through tissues to places of infection/injury. Some secrete substances to kill bacteria then digest them whilst others just engulf live bacteria and digest them. They are made in bone marrow and lymphoid tissue.

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19
Q

What are macrophages? What do they do?

A

They are large phagocytic cells that developed from leucocytes. Some wander around the body looking from bacteria whilst others stay in one place and wait from bacteria to come to them (they are fixed), like leucocytes they either secrete substances to kill bacteria or engulf them live.

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20
Q

How do the processes of phagocytes help the body?

A

They eliminate many pathogens before an infection has a chance to take over.

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21
Q

What is inflammation a response to?

A

Damage to the body’s tissues

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22
Q

What are the 3 purposes of inflammation?

A
  1. to reduce the spread of pathogens, to destroy them and to prevent the entry of additional pathogens
  2. to remove damaged tissue and cell debris
  3. to begin repair of the damaged tissue
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23
Q

What does the word ending ‘itis’ mean?

A

Inflammation of a specific organ

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24
Q

What are the 4 signs of inflammation?

A

Redness
Swelling
Pain
Heat

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25
Q

What are the 7 steps in the inflammatory response?

A
  1. Mast cells are stimulated by damage to the body/local chemical changes, this makes them release histamine, heparin and other substances into the tissue fluid
  2. Histamine increases blood flow and capillary permeability (to assist in filtration), this causes heat/redness/swelling
  3. Heparin prevents clotting, some clotting does occur to slow spread of pathogen to healthy tissue
  4. These chemicals attract phagocytes (leucocytes/macrophages) which consume micro-organisms and debris
  5. Abnormal conditions stimulate pain receptors
  6. Phagocytes filled with bacteria/debris/dead cells begin to die. These dead phagocytes and tissue fluid form pus (yellow liquid)
  7. New cells are created (mitosis) and repair of damaged tissue takes place
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26
Q

What are mast cells?

A

Special cells found in most tissues, they stimulate and coordinate inflammation by releasing chemicals

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27
Q

What is a fever?

A

It is the elevation of body temperature, due to a reset of the body’s thermostat (controlled by the hypothalamus)

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28
Q

What are the steps of a fever?

A
  1. The body’s thermostat is set abnormally high
  2. The body feels cold; responding by shivering and vasoconstriction in the skin
  3. The body temperature rises
  4. The fever breaks (crisis) with sweating and vasodilation in the skin, person feels hot and appears flushed
  5. Body temperature falls to normal (37C)
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29
Q

Is fever beneficial? Why?

A

To a certain point. It inhibits growth of some bacteria and viruses, it also speeds up rate of chemical reactions (making them able to repair themselves quicker)

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30
Q

What is the temperature range that will likely result in death?

A

Anything above 44.4-45.5C

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31
Q

What causes this thermostat reset?

A

Substance called pyrogens which are released by WBCs, they act directly on the hypothalamus

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32
Q

What does the lymphatic system consist of?

A

A network of lymph capillaries joined to larger lymph vessels and lymph nodes which are located along the length of some lymph vessels.

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33
Q

What is the main function of the lymphatic system?

A

To collected some fluid that escapes from the blood capillaries and return it to the circulatory system. It also helps with the internal defence against pathogens.

34
Q

What is the contents of lymph?

A

Cell debris
Foreign particles
Micro organisms

35
Q

What happens in the lymph system when an infection occurs?

A

Formation of lymphocytes increases

Lymph nodes become swollen and sore

36
Q

What are some ways to help the defence system?

A
  • Good hygiene

- Mechanical barriers

37
Q

What do mechanical barriers provide?

A

An obstacle to invading pathogens, reducing the risk of getting a disease

38
Q

Provide examples of mechanical barriers.

A 
Surgical masks
Protective clothing
Gloves
Safety glasses
Condoms
39
Q

Provide examples of good hygiene.

A
  • Covering your mouth (when coughing/sneezing)
  • Wear gloves
  • Wear safety glasses
  • Wipe surfaces with disinfectant
  • Use tongs/pilers/tweezers (when picking up discarded objects (needles/condoms))
  • Use puncture proof container (if picking up needles)
  • Never share personal items (toothbrush/razors/towels/needles)
  • Wash your hands:
    before: preparing/eating food, breastfeeding
    after: using the toilet, handling blood/body fluids, coughing/sneezing
    before and after: providing first aid, caring for an ill person
40
Q

What are specific defences? What are the protections?

A

Defences directed towards a particular pathogen, protection is provided from b-cells and t-cells

41
Q

What is the immune response? What are the 2 parts called?

A

It is a homeostatic mechanism, helps restore body to normal conditions after an infection. Humeral response/antibody-mediated immunity and cell-mediated response

42
Q

Where does lymph tissue occur?

A

In the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus gland and tonsils

43
Q

Where do b-cells and t-cells get produced?

A

Both get produced in the bone marrow and end up in lymphoid tissue they mature in different places. T-cells mature in the thymus gland (hence ‘T’) and b-cells mature in the bone marrow (hence ‘B’). T cells go into the lymphoid tissue whilst b-cells become part of the lymphoid tissue.

44
Q

What are antigens?

A

They are a substance capable of causing a specific immune response, they are large molecules.

45
Q

Give some examples of antigens.

A 
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Nucleic acids
Virus particles
Whole micro-organism
Part of a bacterium
Cell wall
Capsule
Toxins (produced by bacteria)
Translated tissues/organs
Blood cells from a different blood group
Pollen grains
Egg Whites
46
Q

Why do large molecules produced in our body not cause an immune response?

A

Because they are self-antigens (programmed before birth to not attack), non-self antigens (foreign matter) get attacked

47
Q

What is an antibody?

A

A specialised protein that is produced in response to a non-self antigen.

48
Q

Why can antibodies only combine with a specific antigen? What is it called when the two combine?

A

Because the antigen has an active site and the antibody combines with this active site to form a lock and key type relationship. This is called antigen-antibody complex.

49
Q

What are some way the antibodies will kill these pathogens?

A
  • Combine with foreign enzymes/bacterial toxins or inactivate them by inhibiting reaction with other cells/compounds
  • Bind to surface of viruses/prevent viruses from entering cells
  • Coat bacteria making them easier to consume (for phagocytes)
  • Cause particles (bacteria/viruses/foreign blood cells) to clump together (agglutination)
  • Dissolve organism
  • React with soluble substances to make them insoluble making them easier to consume
50
Q

What are the 5 steps in the antibody mediated immunity?

A
  1. Foreign antigen reaches lymphoid tissue
  2. Certain b-cell are stimulated to undergo rapid cell division
  3. Most new b-cells develop into plasma cells, which produce antibodies and release them into blood and lymph
  4. Antibodies combine with the specific antigen and inactivate/destroy it
  5. Some b-cell turn into memory cells which assist if the body gets infected by the same antigen again
51
Q

What is the difference between first exposure and second?

A

The first exposure is the primary response (the first time infected), it usually takes a longer time to reacted (several days, b-cells need to replicate etc).
The second exposure known as the secondary response is the second time the antigen has been detected in the body and the response time is quicker due to the memory cells.

52
Q

What does the cell-mediated immunity deal with? What does it work against?

A

It deals with the intercellular phase of infection (inside the cells). It works against translated tissues/organs, cancer cells and cells that have been infected by viruses/bacteria and it also provides resistance to fungi/parasites

53
Q

What are the 6 steps in cell-mediated immunity?

A
  1. Foreign antigen reaches lymphoid tissue
  2. Certain T lymphocytes are stimulated to under go rapid cell division
  3. Most new T cells develop into killer T cells and helper T cels, which migrate to the site of the infection
  4. Killer T-cells destroy the antigen whilst helper T-cells attract macrophages and promote phagocytosis by enhancing the activity of macrophages (they also activate more lymphocytes)
  5. Some sensitised T-cells form memory cells
  6. Sometime later, suppressor T-cells are formed which reduce the activity of the B/T cells when the immune response becomes successful
54
Q

What is immunity?

A

The resistance to infection by invading micro-organism

55
Q

What is passive immunity?

A

When a person is given antibodies produced by someone else

56
Q

What is active immunity?

A

It is the results from when the body is exposed to a foreign antigen and manufactures antibodies in response to that antigen

57
Q

What is natural immunity?

A

Immunity that occurs without human intervention

58
Q

What is artificial immunity?

A

Immunity that occurs from people being given an antibody or antigen

59
Q

What is natural passive immunity?

A

Antibodies enter the bloodstream across the placenta or in breastmilk

60
Q

What is natural active immunity?

A

Ability to manufacture antibodies results from an attack of a disease

61
Q

What is artificial passive immunity?

A

Antibodies are injected into the bloodstream

62
Q

What is artificial active immunity?

A

Ability to manufacture antibodies results from being given an antigen by vaccination

63
Q

What is immunisation?

A

The strengthening of the immune response via exposure to an antigen, it can be achieved via vaccination or environment, it protects against disease causing pathogens

64
Q

Why do we get sick?

A
  • Rapid multiplication crowds out own tissue
  • Disrupting normal functions
  • Kills cells and tissues
  • Make toxins which affect our cells (paralysis/destroy)
65
Q

What are symptoms caused by?

A

The immune system trying to eliminate the infection from the body

66
Q

What are the four types of older vaccines?

A
  1. Living attenuated micro-organisms: pathogens with reduced ability to produce disease symptoms are prepared and injected (e.g. rubella, measles, mumps), can have side effects (usually due to fluid used)
  2. Dead micro-organisms: not particularly long lasting (e.g. cholera, typhoid)
  3. Filtrate of bacteria cultures containing toxins: toxins used are inactive (toxoids) and injected (e.g. diphtheria, tetanus)
  4. Subunit vaccine: fragments of the pathogens are injected
67
Q

What are the 2 types of newer vaccines?

A
  1. Pathogen’s DNA is modified slightly:
    - less virulent
    - can’t reproduce as fast or produce its toxin
    - Still appears as non-self but it won’t function properly
  2. A DNA sequence from a disease causing pathogen is inserted into a harmless bacterium: changes antigens of bacteria
68
Q

What are some advantages of the newer vaccines?

A
  • Cheaper to manufacture
  • Can be very pure (less chance of contamination - which live vaccines can provide)
  • Work consistently (unlike attenuated)
  • Effects can last longer (than dead micro-organisms)
69
Q

What are ways of getting vaccination?

A

Nasal inhaler/spray
Skin patches
Needles/injections (2 doses)

70
Q

What is mass immunisation? How can it work?

A

When most of the population is vaccinated, these programs are promoted by the government (can be administered through school programs). It only works when most of the population is immunised (90% or higher)

71
Q

What is herd immunity? What happens if the population vaccinated gets to low?

A

When there is a high amount of individuals who immunised, it doesn’t matter if a very small proportion isn’t as there is a decreased chance of disease being transmitted around the population. Without it disease outbreaks will occur more frequently

72
Q

What are the risks of vaccines?

A
  • Allergic reaction (usually from the fluid from where it was cultured) (e.g. egg protein for flu)
  • Cross-species disease introduction (from viruses cultures in animal tissue)
  • People claim that preservatives used in vaccinations can affect the nervous system (but no conclusive evidence has been found)
73
Q

What are the ethical issues of vaccines?

A
  • Treatment of animals
  • Where the vaccine was developed (country)
  • Source of tissue (human/animal)
74
Q

What can influence peoples participation in immunisation?

A
  • Social/economic/cultural backgrounds
  • Costs (emerging countries)
  • Level of women’s education
  • Religious beliefs
  • Traditional medicines can be superior
  • Internet/social media/media
75
Q

What are antibiotics?

A

They are drugs that are used to fight infections of micro-organisms (usually bacteria)

76
Q

What are the 4 types of antibiotics? What do they do?

A

Bactericidal:
- Kill bacteria by damaging their cell membranes

Bacteriostatic:
- Halts bacteria by prevent transcription and translation (stopping protein synthesis in ribosomes)

Narrow spectrum:

  • Kills only a limited number of types of bacteria
  • Good, it leaves other beneficial body cells alone

Broad spectrum:

  • Kills a broad range of types of bacteria
  • Results in the loss of good bacteria top
  • Useful when there is a bad infection that needs to be dealt with urgently
77
Q

Is over use of antibiotics a bad thing?

A

Yes, as bacteria can gain a resistance to the drugs that are used to combat these bacteria.

78
Q

What is multiple drug resistance?

A

When the bacteria do not get killed by multiple types of drugs.

79
Q

What is total drug resistance?

A

When the bacteria do not get killed by all types of drugs.

80
Q

What are antiviral drugs?

A

Drugs used specifically for treating viral infections

81
Q

How do antiviral drugs work?

A

They interfere with viral replication

Human Biology (5 decks)

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