Immunity

• Communicable Diseases


  A disease that can be caught and spread between people.
• Microorganism


  A very small single cell organism such as bacteria, fungi and viruses
• Pathogen


  A microorganism which causes disease.
• Immune System


  The body's defence mechanism against disease.
• Toxin


  A poison produced by pathogenic bacteria.
• White Blood Cell


  A part of your immune system that protects your body from infection.
• Phagocytosis


  A process which white blood cells engulf and destroy pathogens.
• Antitoxins


  Produced to counteract toxins.
• Antibody


  Produced by white blood cells which lock onto the pathogen so it then can be found and destroyed quicker.
• Vaccine


  A weakened, dead or genetically modified version of a disease used to provide immunity.
• Painkiller


  Medicines that relieve pain by reducing symptoms but they don't tackle the cause of the disease.
• Antibiotic


  Medicines that are specifically used for treating bacterial infections by killing bacteria but can not be used for viral diseases.
• Placebo


  A fake drug used in clinical trials which do not contain the active ingredient.
• 4 main types of pathogens:

  • Viruses, e.g. HIV, Tobacco Mosaic Virus
  • Bacteria, e.g. Salmonella, Agrobacterium
  • Fungi, e.g. Athletes Foot, Rose Black Spot
  • Protists, e.g. Malaria, Downy Mildew
• Viruses can often survive outside a host for long periods of a time.
• Viruses do not divide and reproduce, but replicate their DNA and protein coats.
• Viruses are not alive as they do not complete all of the seven life stages.
• Monoclonal antibodies are made in a laboratory and they need a lot of B-lymphocyte clones but they don't divide very quickly.
• Antibodies bind to antigens with a complementary shape.
• Monoclonal antibodies always bind to one specific thing.
• Monoclonal antibodies can cause fevers, vomiting and low blood pressure.