Key definitions

Question 1

Define immunity

Answer 1

Resistance to injury by poisons, foreign proteins and parasites due to the presence of antibodies

Question 2

What is an antigen

Answer 2

A substance that stimulates the immune system to produce specific antibodies

Question 3

What is an antibody

Answer 3

A protein that binds to specific antigens to neutralize or destroy them

Question 4

What is an immunoglobulin

Answer 4

An antibody made by plasma cells in response to antigens

Question 5

What is the immune system composed of

Answer 5

Lymphoid organs (thymus, spleen, tonsils, bone marrow, lymph nodes) linked by lymphatic vessels and capillaries

Question 6

What are lymphocytes

Answer 6

White blood cells; b-lymphocytes (produces antibodies) and t-lymphocytes (regulate and carry out immune responses)

Question 7

What are phagocytes

Answer 7

Cells like neutrophils and eosinophils that ingest and destroy microbes via phagocytosis

Question 8

What is clonal Selection theory

Answer 8

Each lymphocyte clone has receptors for one antigen when it encounters its antigen it multiplies to fight it