Immune System Flashcards
What are the two main divisions of the immune system?
Innate (non-specific) immunity and adaptive (specific) immunity.
- The adaptive immunity is further divided into humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity.
What is the difference between innate and adaptive immunity?
Innate immunity consists of immunity that are always active against pathogens, but are not capable of targeting specific invaders. It takes longer to mount a response with adaptive immunity, but the response targets a specific pathogen and maintains immunologic memory of the infection to mount a faster response during subsequent infections.
What are B-Cells and give information regarding them.
B-cells are lymphocytes that are developed and matured within the bone marrow. However, they become activated in the spleen or lymph nodes. B-Cells are a part of the humoral immunity (subdivision of adaptive) and their main function is to produce antibodies.
What are T-Cells and give information regarding them.
T-Cells are lymphocytes and are developed in the bone marrow but mature in the thymus. The main function of T-cells are to coordinate the immune system (helper T-Cells) and to directly kill infected cells (cytotoxic T-Cells). They are a part of the cell-mediated immunity (subdivision of adaptive).
Which cells are considered granulocytes and which are considered agranulocytes?
Basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils are considered granulocytes, while B-cells and T-cells (lymphocytes) and monocytes (macrophages) are considered agranulocytes.
