Lecture 14 Flashcards
What is immunity ?
ability of the body to protect itself against the foreign agents including the disease-causing organisms
What are thee types of immunity ?
a) Innate immunity
b) Acquired immunity
What is innate immunity?
It is present from the time of birth and provides protection against the entry of any foreign agent into our body.
What examples of innate immunity ?
1) Skin and the mucous membranes prevent entry of foreign agents into the body.
2) Hydrochloric acid in the stomach kills the germs that reach the stomach
3) White blood cells (WBC) engulf foreign particles and destroy them.
What icquired immunity ?
It develops during one’s life time by producing antibodies in response to foreign bodies termed antigens.
What is antibodies ?
are proteins produced by lymphocytes (a type of WBC), against specific antigen.
How the antibodies work ?
Antibodies remember and recognize the infective agents that have once attacked the body and recognize and kill them when they enter the body again. This is called the memory of the immune
Is it correct that acquired immunity can develop either naturally or artificially
?
YES
Natural acquired immunity ?
develops after infection or exposure to a disease. The body develops its own antibodies which remain in the body and provides immunity against the pathogen in the future.
Artificial acquired immunity ?
Can be developed through vaccination
Vaccines are inactivated or weakened pathogens or their products that function as antigens or foreign agents. They activate the immune system forming memory cells.
