components of the immune system that everyone is born with.
Pre-existing and non-specific defense immunity with a very low memory component if any. As the primitive immune response against bacteria, it is present in invertebrates and vertebrates.
In an evolutionary sense, this is the ancestral immunity present in normal individuals at all times and does not increase with repeated exposure to a given pathogen. Responsible for clearance of most infections (Lecture: Acquired Immunity, 2/14/02)
a type of immune response. It is not specific to a particular antigen and does not become stronger when an individual is exposed to the antigen again. Compare adaptive immunity.
immunity to disease that occurs as part of an individual's natural biologic makeup
The body's first line of defense against pathogens such as bacteria, which includes anatomical barriers (skin, mucus, hair, tears, etc.) and physiological barriers (stomach acid, fever, inflammation, ingestion of bacteria by white blood cells, etc.)
Protection against infection that relies on mechanisms that exist before infection, are capable of a rapid response to microbes, and react in essentially the same way to repeated infections. The innate immune system includes epithelial barriers, phagocytic cells (neutrophils, macrophages), NK cells, the complement system, and cytokines, largely made by mononuclear phagocytes that regulate and coordinate many of the activities of the cells of innate immunity(1).
The inborn immune response which pre-exists encounters with an infection; compare acquired immunity.
Immunity one is born with; this type of immune response is not associated with specific antigens
Is the first line of defense against a pathogen. Skin, tears, mucus, and macrophages are the major players in innate immunity.
A number of non-specific systems involved in immunity which don't require or involve prior contact with the infectious agent.