RAT 13 Flashcards
what are the three main ways that the immune system can malfunction?
- can overreact and damage tissues, results in hypersensitivity disorder
- one or more components may fail, which is an immunodeficiency
- may treat self antigens as foreign and attack the body’s disorder own tissues, which is an autoimmune disorder
what is the common term for the most common type of hypersensitivity?
allergies
what is the term for a life-threating hypersensitivity reaction?
anaphylactic shock
what occurs during anaphylactic shock?
- serve spasm of the smooth muscle in the larynx
- systemic vasodilation, which causes blood pressure to drop and decreases blood flow to all organs including the brain
- increased capillary permeability in all the body’s capillaries, which further lowers blood pressure and causes the body wide swelling and massive loss of fluid to the lungs
what medication helps to combat anaphylactic shock?
epinephrine
how does epinephrine help with the responses of anaphylactic shock?
causes relaxation of the smooth muscle of the airways and systemic vasoconstriction
what are the two main types of immunodeficiency disorders?
- primary immunodeficiencies
- secondary immunodeficiencies
describe primary immunodeficiencies.
- genetic or developmental in nature
- may effect innate or adaptive immunity
- serve combined immunodeficiency (SCID)
- leukopenia
describe secondary immunodeficiencies
- acquired through infection, trauma, cancer, or certain medications
- acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
- HIV-1
signs and symptoms of AIDs are largely due to the destruction of which cell type?
helper T cells
how does destruction of helper T cells (due to AIDs) impact the performance of the immune system?
causes the entire adaptive immunity response to fail, leading to recurrent infections
what is an autoantibody?
antibodies that bind to self-antigens
list four examples of autoimmune disorders
- release of self antigens not previously encountered by T cells
- foreign antigens mimic self antigens
- cells may inappropriately express class II MHC molecules
- certain pathogens nonspecifically activate B cells
what is gas transport?
the movement of gases in the blood
what percentage of oxygen in the blood travels dissolved in the plasma?
1.5%
how is most oxygen transported in the blood?
on the protein hemoglobin (Hb)
what is a loading reaction?
converts hemoglobin from deoxyhemoglobin to oxyhemoglobin
where do loading reactions take place?
pulmonary capillaries
what is an unloading reaction?
hemoglobin releases oxygen to the tissue cells
where do unloading reactions take place?
systemic capillaries