Humoral Adaptive Immunity – Key Vocabulary

A collection of vocabulary flashcards summarizing essential terms from the lecture on humoral adaptive immunity, vaccination, and antibody function.

Adaptive (Acquired) Immune System

The branch of immunity that must first encounter and recognize a specific pathogen before mounting a response and that retains memory of that pathogen.

Innate Immune System

The fast-acting, non-specific immune defense that attacks any foreign microbe immediately without prior exposure.

Systemic Immunity

An immune response that can act throughout the entire body rather than being confined to the original infection site.

Humoral Immunity

The component of adaptive immunity that uses antibodies in body fluids (blood, lymph) to neutralize extracellular pathogens.

Cellular (Cell-Mediated) Defenses

The arm of adaptive immunity that targets infected or abnormal cells directly through specialized lymphocytes (e.g., T cells).

Antibody

A protein produced by B cells that binds specifically to an antigen to mark it for destruction or neutralize it.

Antigen

Any large, non-self molecule (pathogen, toxin, diseased cell) that triggers an adaptive immune response.

B Lymphocyte (B Cell)

A white blood cell that matures in bone marrow and produces antibodies as part of the humoral response.

Immunocompetence

A B cell’s ability to recognize and bind a specific antigen.

Self-Tolerance

A B cell’s ability to avoid attacking the body’s own healthy cells.

Membrane-Bound Antibodies

Antibody receptors displayed on the surface of a B cell enabling antigen recognition.

Plasma Cell (Effector Cell)

An activated B cell that mass-produces and secretes large quantities of antibodies against a specific antigen.

Memory B Cell

A long-lived B cell that retains the blueprint for a specific antibody to provide faster, stronger responses upon re-exposure.

Neutralization

Antibody action that blocks pathogen binding sites, preventing them from attaching to host tissues.

Agglutination

Antibody-mediated clumping of multiple pathogens, making them easier targets for phagocytosis.

Phagocyte

A cell (e.g., macrophage) that engulfs and digests pathogens or debris.

Macrophage

A large phagocytic cell of the innate immune system that consumes antibody-tagged pathogens.

Primary Immune Response

The body’s initial, slower adaptive response when it first encounters an antigen.

Secondary Immune Response

The faster, stronger reaction upon subsequent exposure to an antigen due to memory cells.

Active Humoral Immunity

Immunity produced when B cells encounter antigens and make antibodies themselves (naturally through infection or artificially via vaccination).

Passive Humoral Immunity

Temporary protection gained from receiving ready-made antibodies (e.g., maternal antibodies, convalescent plasma).

Vaccination

The deliberate introduction of a weakened or dead pathogen to stimulate an active adaptive immune response without causing disease.

Exogenous Antibodies

Antibodies obtained from another organism’s plasma and transferred to provide passive immunity.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (in Plasma Cells)

Organelle packed in plasma cells that serves as a factory for mass antibody production.

Humors

Historical term referring to body fluids such as blood and lymph where antibodies circulate.