Infection and Immunity Basics
This disease-causing microorganism can be a virus, bacterium, fungus, or parasite.
What is a pathogen?
This is your body's largest protective barrier against infection.
What is the skin?
This fast, non-specific immune response is present from birth.
What is innate immunity?
This highly specific immune response develops after exposure to an antigen.
What is adaptive immunity?
This type of body cell grows uncontrollably because of genetic changes.
What is a cancer cell?
This happens when a pathogen enters the body and begins to multiply.
What is an infection?
These moist tissues trap germs in your nose, lungs, and digestive tract.
What are mucous membranes?
This type of immune cell engulfs and digests pathogens.
What is a phagocyte?
This type of white blood cell produces antibodies.
What is a B cell?
This treatment genetically engineers a patient's T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
What is CAR-T cell therapy?
This is the organism that becomes infected by a pathogen.
What is a host?
This term describes the physical and chemical protections that prevent pathogens from entering your body.
What are barrier defenses?
This large phagocyte destroys pathogens and alerts other immune cells.
What is a macrophage?
These Y-shaped proteins bind to specific antigens to help eliminate pathogens.
What are antibodies?
This molecule stores the genetic instructions for every living organism.
What is DNA?
The immune system recognizes this molecule on pathogens as "foreign."
What is an antigen?
Helpful microorganisms living on and inside your body that protect you from harmful microbes make up this.
What is the microbiome?
This white blood cell is one of the first immune cells to attack bacteria during an infection.
What is a neutrophil?
This medical preparation safely trains your immune system to recognize and fight a disease.
What is a vaccine?
A section of DNA that contains instructions for making a specific protein is called this.
What is a gene?
This term describes the coordinated actions the immune system takes to eliminate pathogens or abnormal cells.
What is the immune response?
Redness, warmth, swelling, and pain are the four classic signs of this early immune response.
What is inflammation?
This immune cell captures antigens and activates T cells, linking innate and adaptive immunity.
What is a dendritic cell?
This community-wide protection occurs when enough people are immune to slow the spread of disease.
What is herd immunity?
This is a change in a DNA sequence that may or may not affect how a gene works.
What is a mutation?