Introduction to Immunology

Question 1

Define immunology.

Answer 1

the study of the reactions (immune response) of a host when foreign substances are introduced into the body

Question 2

What does the study of immunology encompass?

Answer 2

the body’s ability to protect itself and combat antigens without producing harm to the tissues; the molecular mechanisms of immune responses; development of testing for disease states; autoimmune disorders; and studying the mechanisms of graft rejection and cancerous cells

Question 3

Define antigen.

Answer 3

a foreign substance that induces an immune response

Question 4

Define antibody.

Answer 4

factors in serum (plasma proteins) that are formed in response to foreign substance exposure; also called immunoglobulins

Question 5

Define immunity.

Answer 5

the condition of being resistant to infection

Question 6

What is the first written record of immunological experimentation and when does it date back to?

Answer 6

1500s; Chinese developed the practice of inhaling powder made from smallpox scabs to prevent infection

Question 7

What scientist demonstrated the phenomenon of cross-immunity through his work with cowpox and smallpox?

Answer 7

Edward Jenner

Question 8

What is a vaccination?

Answer 8

was originally the term applied to Jenner’s cowpox method (derived from “vacca”, Latin word for “cow”); now defined as any process of injecting immunogenic material into the body in order to induce immunity

Question 9

What scientist demonstrated the effects of attenuated vaccines using cultures of cholera in chickens?

Answer 9

Louis Pasteur

Question 10

What is done to cultures in order to prepare them for attenuated vaccines?

Answer 10

cultures lose their virulence through heating, aging, or chemical means, though they still retain the capacity to induce immunity

Question 11

What other disease did Pasteur apply the principle of attenuated vaccines to?

Answer 11

rabies

Question 12

Which scientist is credited with identifying phagocytosis?

Answer 12

Elie Metchkinoff

Question 13

Which scientist showed that noncellular factors in blood could neutralize tetanus and diptheria toxins in animals previously exposed to the bacteria?

Answer 13

Emil von Behring

Question 14

Which physician discovered that both cellular and noncellular factors were necessary to produce immunity?

Answer 14

Almoth Wright; first to observe opsonins coating bacteria, and expressed the notion of serum antibodies being produced in response to foreign substances

Question 15

What condition is Robert Koch credited with discovering through his work with guinea pigs and tubercle bacilli?

Answer 15

delayed hypersensitivity

Question 16

Define serology.

Answer 16

study of the noncellular portion of the blood known as serum

Question 17

Define agglutination.

Answer 17

particulate antigens, such as cells, aggregate to form larger complexes when specific antibody is present

Question 18

Define precipitation.

Answer 18

combination of soluble antigen with soluble antibody to produce an insoluble complex