The immune system Flashcards
1
Q
What 3 ways do white blood cells attack pathogens?
A
Phagocytosis
Producing antibodies
Producing antitoxins
2
Q
What is phagocytosis?
A
When white blood cells engulf and digest pathogens.
3
Q
What do antibodies do?
A
They recognise and bind to specific antigens and destroy them.
4
Q
What do antitoxins do?
A
They neutralise the toxins released by the invading bacteria.
5
Q
What are antigens?
A
Proteins found on the surface of cells.
6
Q
What are the steps involved in vaccination?
A
- Dead or inactive pathogens are injected into the blood.
- White blood cells recognise foreign antigens and produce antibodies against them.
- Some white blood cells remain in the blood as memory cells so if the same pathogen invades the body again, the memory cells can rapidly produce antibodies to kill the pathogen.
7
Q
What are the advantages of vaccination?
A
It can eradicate diseases like smallpox.
It can create herd immunity - where enough of the population are vaccinated so the virus can’t spread.
8
Q
What are the disadvantages of vaccination?
A
Sometimes they don’t give you immunity.
You may have a bad reaction to a vaccine.
