SC.912.L.14.52 Immune System

You need to know:

The basic functions of the human immune system
Understand non-specific and specific immune responses
How the human immune system responds to vaccines and/or antibiotics
How genetic factors, environmental factors, and pathogenic agents affect both individual and public health

TUTORIALS
The Immune System: Your Body’s Private Defense System
Immune System
Vaccines
Viruses
Flu and Flu vaccine

The immune system PROTECTS the body from disease. It uses both NONSPECIFIC and SPECIFIC defense mechanisms to detect and destroy pathogens, thereby preventing or reducing the
severity of infection

FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE (NON Specific immune response)

Barriers to Infection such as the skin, stomach acidity, sweat, tears, mucus, etc

SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE (non Specific immune response)

The Inflammatory Response

· An inflammatory response causes local blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood flow to the infection site.

· Plasma, the liquid part of blood, fills the spaces between cells. This plasma carries blood cells called macrophages to the injured area. Macrophages are large white blood cells that engulf and destroy pathogens.

· Blood flow also brings special proteins that kill or inhibit pathogens

· Body temperature increases and slows the growth of bacteria.

Pathogens that have survived the first and second lines of nonspecific defenses still face a third line of specific defenses—the immune response

THIRD LINE OF DEFENSE the immune response, attacks specific pathogens producing antibodies.

The third line of defense is SPECIFIC and ACQUIRED

The immune response attacks specific pathogens using specialized cells and proteins. Four main kinds of white blood cells participate in the immune response:

1. Macrophages: Consume pathogens and infected cells
2. Cytotoxic/Killer T cells: Attack and kill infected cells
3. Helper T cells: activate both cytotoxic T cells and b cells
4. B cells: Produce antibodies and label invades for later destruction by macrophages

An antibody is a Y shaped protein that attaches to specific substance known as an antigen.

Each antibody is made to fit precisely with a specific antigen.

TYPES of IMMUNITY

Immunity is the ability to resist disease. There are two types ACTIVE and PASSIVE IMMUNITY

A vaccine is a weakened or deactivated form of the disease -causing agent. Do not make you sick but causes your immune system to produce antibodies against specific antigens.

When the immune system cannot fight off an infection, drugs may be used to fight bacterial infections. Antibiotics are drugs that kill bacteria or prevent their reproduction. Antibiotic do not work on viruses.

VIRUSES are tiny particles of genetic material surrounded by a protein coat, they are not classified as living things because they are not made up of cells and cannot reproduce by themselves. Viruses need a living cell to make more viruses. The virus that causes the flu mutates frequently.

TYPES OF DISEASES

An allergic reaction is the body’s immune system response to a harmless antigen.

Autoimmunity disease occurs when the immune system becomes overreactive and attacks the body’s own tissues. One of the treatments for autoimmunity disease is anti-inflammatory medication