Key words in immunology

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Active immunity: Resistance to disease resulting from the activities of an individual's own immune system.

Agglutination: The "clumping together" of pathogens by antibodies, facilitating phagocytosis.

Antibody: Protein produced by B lymphocytes which binds to antigens on pathogens.

Antigen: A molecule (usually a protein) which triggers an immune response.

B lymphocyte: White blood cell involved in humoral immunity, which produces antibodies and stores immunological memory of antigens.

Immunity: The means by which the body protects itself from infection.

Lymphocytes: White blood cells involved in the specific immune response (B cells and T cells).

Lysosome: An organelle containing digestive enzymes.

Macrophages: White blood cells which carry out phagocytosis.

Monoclonal antibodies: Antibodies produced from a single clone of B cells.

Passive immunity: Resistance to disease acquired by the injection of antibodies into the body

Pathogen: A disease-causing microorganism.

Perforin: Protein produced by cytotoxic T cells which kills infected cells by perforating their plasma membrane.

Phagocytosis: Mechanism by which pathogens are ingested by macrophages.

Phagolysosome: a phagosome fused with a lysosome.

Phagosome: a vesicle in a macrophage containing a pathogen.

T lymphocyte: White blood cell involved in cell-mediated immunity, coordinating the immune response and killing infected cells.

Vaccination: The introduction of a vaccine containing antigens into the body to induce artificial immunity.

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