Key words in immunology

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 bodyPathogen: 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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