Types of Immunity Flashcards
What are the 4 categories of Immunity?
-Passive
-Active
-Natural
-Artificial
What is active, natural immunity?
Normal immune response to the presence of a pathogen.
Why is the normal immune response to the presence of a pathogen natural?
As it’s carried out from birth with little control over it.
Why is the normal immune response to the presence of a pathogen active?
As the body itself brings about a response to the pathogen producing antibodies.
What is active, artificial immunity?
-Vaccination
-Body is stimulated to produce antibodies by an immune response by injecting ‘safe’ antigens into the the bloodstream.
Why is this artificial?
As antigens are not normally part of a living pathogen.
-Immune system can recognise the antigen with the pathogen cell body.
What is passive, natural immunity?
-Newborn babies don’t have a fully developed immune system so have to get immunity from their mothers.
-In uterus, foetus receives antibodies from mother in milk especially in 1st sample produced as is higher in antibodies.
Why is this passive?
As baby doesn’t produce them itself
What is passive, artificial immunity?
-Involves taking antibodies produced by another organism and injecting them in the bloodstream of another.
-Gives short term lasting immunity to organism but can prove life saving.
What is an example of this?
Tetanus
Explain how Tetanus works and its immunity.
People suspected to have this are given injections of antibodies from horses.
-Tetanus is found in contaminated soil and animal faeces causing muscle spasm making you unable to swallow or breathe
What can the immune system sometime do?
Stop recognising ‘self’ cells and starts to attack healthy body tissues.
What is this referred to as?
As and autoimmune disease although it is not fully understanded why this happens.
How many different type of autoimmune conditions are there?
Around 80
What do some autoimmune conditions cause?
Chronic inflammation or complete breakdown and destruction of healthy tissues
