History of Immunology

• What form of immunization did the Chinese practice using dried powders from smallpox lesions?

  Variolation
• Who is credited with the smallpox vaccination in 1798?

  Edward Jenner
• What does the term "vaccination" derive from?


  It comes from the Latin word "vaca," meaning cow.
• Who introduced the concept of phagocytosis in 1862?

  Haeckel
• What type of vaccines did Louis Pasteur develop between 1880-1881?

  Live, attenuated chicken cholera and anthrax vaccines
• What theory of immunity did Elie Metchnikoff propose?

  The cellular theory of immunity through phagocytosis
• What was the first report of a live attenuated vaccine for rabies published by Louis Pasteur?

  1885
• What theory of immunity was proposed by Von Behring and Kitasata in 1890?

  The humoral theory of immunity
• Who demonstrated cutaneous hypersensitivity in 1891?

  Robert Koch
• What is hypersensitivity in the immune system?

  It is when the immune system reacts exaggeratedly, such as in allergic reactions.
• What did Pfeiffer and Buchner discover between 1894-1895?

  Complement mediated cytolysis
• Who discovered agglutination reactions in 1896?

  Gruber and Durham
• What did Ferdinand Widal devise for diagnosing typhoid fever?

  An agglutination reaction
• What theory did Paul Ehrlich propose in 1900?

  The antibody formation theory
• Who discovered the ABO blood group in 1901?


  Karl Landsteiner
• What significant discovery did Portier and Charles Richet make in 1902?

  Immediate-hypersensitivity anaphylaxis
• What is the Arthus reaction related to?

  It is a type III hypersensitivity reaction.
• Who discovered opsonins and their relation to phagocytosis?

  Almoth Wright, Stephen Douglas, and Joseph Denys
• What did George Snell work on regarding the murine major histocompatibility complex?

  He generated congenic strains needed for its biological analysis.
• What relationship did Von Pirquet and Schick describe in 1906?

  The relationship of immunity and hypersensitivity
• Who was an early pioneer in the study of MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex)?


  Jean Dausset
• What did Peter Medawar study from 1915 to 1987?

  Acquired immunologic tolerance
• Who received the Nobel Prize for pioneering works on the complement system in 1920?

  Jules Bordet
• What did Baruj Bernacerraf discover in 1920?


  Immune response genes and MHC restriction
• What did Rodney Porter work on from 1920 to 1985?

  The polypeptide structure of the antibody molecule
• What was the first successful vaccine against tuberculosis developed by Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin?


  1921
• What did Rosalyn Yalow develop in 1921?

  Radio immunoassay (RIA) of peptide hormones
• Who described the action of lysozymes in 1922?

  Alexander Flemming
• What did James Gowan discover in 1924?

  Adaptive immunity is mediated by lymphocytes
• Who developed the technique of monoclonal antibody formation in 1927?

  Cesar Milstein and Georges Kohler
• What crucial discoveries did Gerald Edelman make in 1929?

  He discovered the structure of immunoglobulin, including the first complete sequence of an antibody molecule.
• What vaccine did Max Theiler develop in 1930?

  A vaccine against yellow fever
• What hypothesis did Marrack propose in 1938?

  The hypothesis of antigen-antibody binding (Anti-HBs)
• Who discovered the somatic recombination of immunological receptor genes in 1983?

  Susumu Tonegawa
• What did Salk and Sabin develop in 1949?

  The Polio vaccine
• What theory did Burnet propose in 1957?

  The Clonal Selection Theory
• What did Alic Isaacs and Jean Lindemann discover in 1957?

  Interferon, signaling proteins released by host cells in response to viruses
• Who isolated a retrovirus in 1980 and called it lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV)?

  Luc Montaigner
• What did Robert Gallo rename the retrovirus isolated by Luc Montaigner?

  Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• What model of T-helper function did Mosmann introduce in 1986?

  The Th1 vs. Th2 model