Question | Answer |
pathogen | an organism, a virus or a protein that causes disease |
immune system | made up of tissues and specialized white blood cells that recognize and attack foreign substances in the body |
macrophage | a white blood cell that destroys pathogens by engulfing and digesting them (eating) |
T cell | coordinate the body's immune response while others attack the infected cells (aka helper T) |
B cell | make antibodies that attach to a specific antigen |
antibody | specialize protein that binds to a specific antigen to tag it for destruction |
immunity | ability to resist or recover from an infectious disease |
vaccine | substance prepared from killed or weakened pathogens that is introduced into the body to produce immunity |
noninfectious disease | diseases that are caused by hereditary or environmental factors (you catch it) |
infectious disease | a disease caused by a pathogen (you can catch it) |
antibiotic | a medicine used to kill or slow the growth of bacteria or other microorganisms |
antiviral drug | a drug that destroys viruses or prevents their replication |
bacteria | Made up of prokaryotes (no nucleus) that usually have a cell wall and reproduce by cell division. Causes diseases like TB, Strep throat, sinus infections and food poisoning |
virus | Depends on living things to reproduce. Insert their DNA into a cell and take over the cell so it will reproduce quickly and infect other cells. Causes the common cold, flu and HIV. |
fungi | Gets energy by absorbing materials and have cell walls but no chloroplast. They can be single-celled or multicellular. This group includes yeasts, molds and mushroom. It can cause skin diseases such as ringworm and athlete's foot. |
parasite | an organism that lives on and feeds on another organism, called a host; usually harm the host; examples are a protist that cause malaria, worms, or contaminated food or water |