This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.
DEFINITIONS
Pathogen |
Micro-organism that causes a disease. |
Transmissible disease |
A disease caused by a pathogen that can be passed from a host to another. |
Antigen |
Any molecule considered foreign by the immune system (usually a surface protein). |
Antibodies |
Proteins which are produced by B-plasma lymphocytes that are targeted to their complementary antigens. |
Active immunity |
Immunity gained when an antigen enters the body. An immune response occurs and antibodies are produced by plasma cells. |
Passive immunity |
Immunity gained without an immune response. Antibodies are injected (artificial) or passed from the mother to the child across the placenta or in breast milk (natural). |
Natural immunity |
Immunity gained by being infected (active) or by receiving antibodies from the mother across the placenta or in breast milk (passive). |
Artificial immunity |
Immunity gained either by vaccination (active) or by injecting antibodies (passive). |
Vaccination |
Giving a vaccine containing antigens for a disease, either by injection or by mouth (vaccination confers artificial active immunity). |
Auto-immune disease |
Diseases where a person's immune system recognize its antigens as foreign antigen and starts an immune response against it. |
TWO WAYS OF INFECTION
Direct contact |
Direct entry of pathogens into the body (AIDS by direct contact with infected blood/athletes' foot by sharing towels). |
Indirect transmission |
Pathogen is transmitted along a certain method (influenza). |
|
|
|
|
|
