B6 Preventing and treating disease Flashcards
(114 cards)
What does every cell have on its surface?
unique proteins called antigens
The antigens on the microorganisms that get into your body are…
…different to the ones on your own cells
Your _____ system recognises that the ____ on the micro-organisms that get into your body are _____ to the ones on your __ cells
i) immune
ii) antigens
iii) different
iv) own
What happens after your immune system recognises the difference between the antigens on the micro-organisms that enter your body?
your WBCs make specific anti-bodies
What do antibodies do?
join up with antigens and inactivate or destroy that particular pathogen
What can some of your white blood cells do?
memory cells ‘remember’ the right antibody needed to destroy a particular pathogen
What happens if you meet the same pathogen you have before?
the memory cells can make the same antibody very quickly to kill the pathogen, so you become immune to the disease
Why do you get ill the first time you meet a new pathogen
there is a delay while your body sorts out the right antibody needed
Some pathogens can make you seriously ill very quick;y. Give an example
meningitis
Why can you die very quickly by serious diseases?
the disease affects the body before it manages to make the right antibodies
What does immunization involve?
giving a vaccine made of a dead or inactivated form of a disease-causing microorganism
What do dead or inactivated form of a disease-causing microoganism stimulates?
your body’s natural immune response to invading pathogens
What happens in a vaccination?
- small amount of dead/inactive forms of a pathogen is introduced into the body
- stimulates while blood cells to product antibodies needed to fight the pathogen and prevent you from being ill
Why do vaccinations work?
if you meet the same, live pathogen, your white blood cells can respond rapidly
- make right antibodies
- just as if you already had the disease
What do doctors use vaccines to protect us from?
against both bacterial diseases and viral diseases
Name two bacterial diseases
tetanus and diphtheria
Name three viral diseases
polio, measles and mumps
What is herd immunity?
if a large proportion of the population is immune to a disease, spread of pathogen reduces and may even disappear
What is a drawback of herd immunity?
it will take money and determination
Often medicine doesn’t affect the pathogen that is causing the problems. What does it do?
eases the symptoms and makes you feel better
Give examples of drugs that are very useful pain killers?
aspirin and paracetamol
Painkillers help relieve but…
have no effect on the viruses that have entered your tissues and made you feel ill
What are antiseptics and disinfectants used for?
to kill bacteria outside the body; far too poisonous to use inside your body
What are the drugs that have really changed the treatment of communicable diseases?
antibiotics