Answer to Question #207093 in Biochemistry for Rajandeep Bhullar

Question

 Immune System

Explain what the immune system is doing.  Your explanation should be 7 – 10 complete sentences.  Diagrams/drawings might be helpful.  

In your description, correctly use, at least 8 of these vocabulary words:

Adaptive/acquired immune response

Antibody

Antigen

Cytotoxic T-cell

Fever

Helper T-cell

Histamine

Inflammation

Innate immune response

Macrophage

Mast cell

Memory B-cell

Natural killer cell

Neutrophil

Pathogen

Plasma B-cell

Pus

Topic:   A patient comes in with symptoms of fever, loss of appetite, a sore throat.  You, the doctor, think that it might be a bacterial infection and prescribe antibiotics.  The patient takes the antibiotics however the symptoms do not go away.   What is the patient’s body doing to fight the disease?

Write your paragraph here (some sentences provided if you want them):

In scenario ______ the symptoms indicate that the immune system is working in the following way ...

Answer 1

When bacteria cause disease, the body increases local blood flow (inflammation) and sends in immune system cells to attack and eliminate the germs. Antibodies, which are generated by the immune system, bind to germs and aid in their elimination. They may also render poisons generated by certain diseases, such as tetanus and diphtheria, inactive.

The bacteria bind to your white blood cells, which absorb or kill them. Antibodies attach themselves to the bacteria. Your immune system becomes stronger as you gain experience. Your immune reaction may take a while the first time your body comes into touch with a certain type of germ. To manufacture and employ all of the germ-fighting elements you'll need to get rid of your sickness, it might take several days. Hacking and destroying the germ's coding takes time. If you come across the same germ again later, your body will remember it and fight it off more quickly, allowing you to recover faster and feel better.