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Biology vocabulary · Animal Biology and Physiology

Immune system

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ɪˈmjuːn ˌsɪstəm/nounCore term

In biology, immune system means: The network of cells, tissues and organs that protects the body from pathogens and other harmful substances, and remembers threats it has met before.

In Turkish: bağışıklık sistemi

How it is used

Has two main parts: innate immunity (fast and general) and adaptive immunity (slower, specific and with memory). Key cells include white blood cells such as B cells, T cells and macrophages. The immune system recognizes, attacks or responds to a pathogen.

Example sentences

  1. Vaccines train the immune system to recognize a pathogen without causing disease.

  2. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's own cells.

Common collocations

  • immune response
  • weakened immune system
  • innate immunity
  • adaptive immunity
  • immune cells
  • antibodyA Y-shaped protein made by B cells of the immune system that recognizes and binds to a specific antigen, such as part of a virus, and marks it for destruction.
  • pathogenA microorganism or virus that causes disease in its host, such as certain bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.
  • homeostasisThe ability of an organism or cell to keep its internal conditions, such as temperature, water balance and blood sugar, stable while the outside world changes.
  • hostAn organism or cell that a parasite, virus or other organism lives in or on, and from which it usually gets food or shelter.

More terms: Animal Biology and Physiology

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