Immunology Fundamentals Quiz

Study Notes

"Immunitas" is Latin for legal exemption, indicating that individuals were once excused from certain duties or taxes, paralleling the concept of immunity from diseases.
The concept of immunity includes protection following a prior infection, where individuals often do not get the same disease again.
Variolation practices in China (1000-1500 AD) involved blowing powdered scabs from smallpox into the nose to induce immunity.
In India and Central Asia, liquid from smallpox lesions was applied to scratched skin for immunization purposes.
Edward Jenner introduced vaccination in 1798 by using the cowpox virus to create immunity against smallpox, laying the foundation for modern immunology.
Louis Pasteur advanced vaccine development by attenuating rabies virus to protect against the disease; he is recognized for paving the way in immunology alongside contemporaries like Robert Koch.

Immunology extends beyond vaccines to include autoimmune diseases, allergies, tumors, transplantation, and immunodeficiency diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.
Inflammation-related autoimmune reactions are significant in conditions like rheumatic diseases, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes.

The immune system consists of both humoral and cellular components that work synergistically.
Elie Metchnikoff, a Nobel laureate, identified phagocytes—cells that ingest microorganisms—as crucial players in the immune response, suggesting a cellular basis for immunity.
Emil von Behring's work showed that serum from immunized animals could confer immunity, leading to his Nobel Prize in 1901 for developing serum therapies for diphtheria.

Humoral immunity relies on antibodies produced by B cells to combat pathogens, existing within bodily fluids and transferable between individuals for protection.
Cell-mediated immunity involves T cells that directly eradicate pathogens and assist other immune cells.
Antigens are molecules that bind with immune response products, whereas immunogens can trigger a humoral and/or cellular immune response. Not all antigens are immunogenic.
Antigens can be "self-proteins" (originating from the body) or "non-self" (from external sources).

Antibodies are the soluble molecules found in the immunoglobulin fraction of serum, specifically targeting infectious pathogens.
The presence of antibodies serves as an indicator of immunization and adaptive immune response activation.

The immune system features two primary lines of defense against pathogens: innate immunity and adaptive immunity, both essential for comprehensive protection against infections.