Immune Response, Food Chains

Flashcards about diseases and food chains

Immune System

Protects the body from pathogens. If a pathogen gets past the first line of defence (the non-specific defences), the immune system works to neutralise or destroy the pathogen, preventing or minimising infection.

White Blood Cells

An important part of the immune system. There are two types that are important to us: lymphocytes and phagocytes.

Phagocytes

White blood cells which engulf and digest pathogens. This process is called Phagocytosis.

Phagocytosis

A process where phagocytes engulf and destroy harmful substances.

Lymphocytes

A very important part of your immune system, they respond to pathogens by producing antibodies. This is called the immune response.

Antibody

A protein molecule with a particular shape which is complementary to the shape of another molecule, called an antigen.

Memory Cells

Some lymphocytes remain in the blood and other parts of the body, living for a very long time. They are called memory cells.

Vaccine

May contain weakened or dead viruses or bacteria that normally cause disease.

Primary Immune Response

Occurs when the body is exposed to a pathogen for the first time. It's a slow response, has low antibody levels, creates memory cells, and you may feel ill.

Secondary Immune Response

Occurs when the same pathogen enters the body again. It's a rapid response, stronger with more antibodies produced, provides longer-lasting immunity, and often no illness occurs.

Pathogen

A microorganism that causes disease (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi).

Autotrophs

Organisms, such as plants, that produce their own food; they convert inorganic compounds into organic compounds and are called producers.

Heterotrophs

All the organisms that cannot make their own food (and need producers) are called heterotrophs; in an ecosystem, heterotrophs are called consumers because they depend on others.

Primary Consumer

Organisms that feed directly from producers i.e. organisms that eat plant or plant products.

Secondary Consumers

Organisms that feed on primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumers

Organisms that feed on secondary consumers.

Food Web

Many interdependent and complex food chains that look more like a web.

Ecological Pyramid

Visual representation of energy transfer, showing energy loss at each successive trophic level with a pyramid shape, indicating fewer organisms can be supported at higher levels.

Calorie

A unit of measure used for energy.

Disease

A structural or functional disorder in organisms that produces specific symptoms or affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.

Symptoms

A physical or a mental state or feature exhibited by the person infected with a disease.

Transmissible diseases

Pathogens are passed on from one host to another and therefore the diseases they cause are known as transmissible diseases

Mechanical barriers

Structures that make it difficult for pathogens to get past them and into the body

Chemical barriers

Substances produced by the body cells that trap / kill pathogens before they can get further into the body and cause disease

Agglutination

Antibodies clump pathogenic cells together so they can’t move as easily (known as agglutination) and releasing chemicals that signal to other cells that they must be destroyed

Ecological pyramid

A graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem.

Pyramid of numbers

It is a graphic representation of the number of individuals at various trophic levels of a food chain in an ecosystem.

Pyramid of biomass

The amount of living matter is called biomass. Biomass can be measured as dry weight and fresh weight.

Neurons

Building blocks of the nervous system. They receive and transmit signals to different parts of the body.

Synapse

It is the chemical junction between the terminal of one neuron and the dendrites of another neuron.

Sensory neurone

Carries impulses from the receptors to the spinal cord.

Relay Neurone

Carries impulses to and from the spinal cord and the brain

Motor Neurone

Carries impulses from the brain to the effector

Receptors

Groups of specialized cells that can detect a change in the environment (stimulus) and produce electrical impulses in response

Effectors

Parts of the body - such as muscles and glands - that produce a response to a detected stimulus.

Reflex arc

The nerve pathway followed by a reflex action