What is the Immunity System?
Unbeknownst to us, our body fights against harmful viruses and pathogens every day and helps us to stay safe from diseases. Consequently, immunity can be defined as the ability of an organism to fight against diseases and infections.
This immunity system of our body is created with human’s body cells and proteins. It is a complex system that protects the body from any infection. The immunity system retains the virus history with whom it fights. So that if the same type of virus attacks, then the system can kill the virus. It is the basic process of the immune system.
The lack of Immunity can cause many diseases. The list is numerous. The parts of the immune system are the lymphatic system, antibodies, the spleen, the bone marrow, white blood cells, the thymus, and the complement system.
Types of Immunity and Their Functions
Immunity can be classified into two groups – (i) innate immunity, and (ii) acquired immunity. The two types of immunity have been discussed in detail below –
Innate Immunity
All organisms possess some disease resistance ability that they have inherited from their parents or have gained naturally. This is known as innate immunity.Note[1] . Innate Immunity is a primary immunity for humans. We get innate Immunity by birth. It is the first layer of protection from any foreign element. Mucous membranes of the throat, skin, and gut have innate Immunity. Pathogens attack first in those external areas of the body.
The Function of Innate Immunity
The function of innate Immunity is very minimal. It creates a barrier against the antigens. It restricts the harmful elements.
However, it does not have any immunological memory, which means it cannot remember antigens. Therefore, it initiates the same level of response every time it encounters the same antigen and viruses.
Innate immunity can be categorized based on individual, racial and species. These types of natural immunity is explained below -
Individual Immunity – Sometimes, individuals belonging to the same race and who have been exposed equally to the virus, pathogens or worms can show a different level of immunity to a disease or infection.
This can be due to any number of reasons. People who are exhibiting higher levels of immunity may have been exposed to the virus before, and their body has developed resistance against it. Other factors such as health, age and hereditary traits can also be responsible for individual immunity.
Racial Immunity – When one race is immune to a certain disease, and another race is susceptible to it, it is referred to as racial immunity. Again, factors such as genetic make-up, food habits, climate conditions play an essential part in determining racial immunity.
Species Immunity – When a disease attacks a species only and another species is entirely immune to it, it is known as species immunity. For instance, only human beings are susceptible to ailments such as measles, mumps, HIV, etc. Animals cannot contract these diseases.
Innate immunity makes use of different types of barriers to protect against diseases. These include cytokine, cellular, physiological, and physical.
Adaptive Immunity
When organisms develop immunity against certain diseases by developing antibodies within themselves, it is referred to as adaptive or acquired immunity. The main difference between innate and acquired immunity are as follows –
Immunological Memory – Acquired immunity has immunological memory while innate immunity does not. Which means once it is exposed to a virus, it can retain a memory of the same. Hence, when it confronts the same virus for the second time, it responds much more quickly and efficiently.
Specificity – Specificity describes the main difference between the two types of immunity. Innate immunity provides general protection against a vast array of viruses, antigens, pathogens and the like; adaptive immunity only provides immunity against a specific type of antigen.
Ability to Distinguish Between Self and Non-Self – The antigens that are already present in the cells of our body are called self-antigens. On the other hand, antigens that originate outside the body are non-self antigens.
Our immune system must be able to differentiate between the two; otherwise, it will start attacking and resisting the self-antigens, which can have severe health consequences. The adaptive immune system can differentiate between the two.
Now that you know what is Acquired immunity, you should also know that it is of two types –
Active Immunity
When an organism’s immune system is actively involved in the formation of antibodies and production of immune-competent cells, it is called active immunity.
Active Immunity is the central Immunity that protects the body from any severe infection. And then destroying the virus creates body immunity which defends the virus if it tries to enter the body.
The Function of Active Immunity
The function of active Immunity is a bit difficult. It is a complex process. When a dangerous virus enters the body, the active immunity system starts work immediately. The body’s white blood cells and B cells generate antibodies. Antibodies are like Y in shape to quickly grab the antigens. Antibodies generate only when viruses enter the body. So one type of antibody can’t protect from another disease. Active Immunity takes days and weeks to create. But after creating, it stays for a lifetime. Active Immunity can happen in two ways. 1) Naturally, 2) Vaccination.
Passive Immunity
In case of passive immunity, antibodies and immune-competent cells are transferred from one organism to another to increase resistance against a pathogen.
Passive Immunity is a kind of Immunity that enters the body externally. A person can take an antibody injection to get passive Immunity. Or a mother provides antibodies to her newborn baby through her breast milk. The baby can get passive Immunity in this way. Passive Immunity is for a few months.
The Function of Passive Immunity
Passive Immunity can grow normally. It can be created artificially also. For instance, if a person needs immunity power, but there is less time to develop an immunity system, doctors inject antibodies to grow passive Immunity. When there is an emergency, doctors use this process to get passive Immunity. Passive immunization takes less time than any vaccine.
Adaptive immunity is carried out via B lymphocytes (B cells) and T lymphocytes (T cells). Immune response by B cells is known as humoral immunity. Similarly, WH-immunity facilitated by T cells is called cellular immunity.
You can also refer to our innate and acquired immunity notes to have a more detailed understanding of how these work in different ways to provide protection against viruses and antigens.
Moreover, you can download the study guide on immunity and its types as pdf via Vedantu’s application to study according to your convenience.
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FAQs on Immunity System of Human Body
1. What are the two types of acquired immunity?
Two types of acquired immunity are active and passive immunity. Active immunity helps in the formation of antibodies and production of immune-competent cells. Passive immunity transfers immune-competent cells from one organism to another to increase resistance against a pathogen.
2. Which part of our body manufactures antibody?
B lymphocytes or B cells manufacture antibodies. Immune response by B cells is also known as humoral immunity.
3. What are the two types of immunity?
The two main types of immunity are innate and acquired.
4. What are the ways to boost the Immunity System?
You can get a massive collection of immune-boosting supplements in all the medical shops. But if you want to boost your Immunity, that supplement cannot be helpful. To build strong Immunity, you have to work hard. The first and most important way is to eat healthy food. Your food must consist of chicken, green vegetables, strawberries, almonds, etc. It would be best if you did exercise properly. Keep your body hydrated. You have to sleep 8 hours a day.
5. How can anyone test their immune system?
If you want to test your Immunity, you need to do a blood test. The parts of the immune system lie in the body’s bone marrow and blood. Through the blood count, you can get a complete blood count. It is called CBC. The laboratory counts the numbers of antibodies and white blood cells. It will tell the level of your Immunity. It defines that if you have any abnormality in your immune system.
6. How can one understand that they have a weak immunity system?
If anyone has weak Immunity, which will be the genuine concern. Especially in this pandemic situation, it is a threat if you have weak Immunity. The immune system can decrease alcohol consumption, obesity, unhealthy diet, cancer, stress, aging, diabetes, etc. Some symptoms of a weak immune system are digestion problems, cough and cold infection frequently, skin problems, blood cancer, inflammation of body parts, late wound heal, etc. whenever you see those symptoms in your health, contact your physician as soon as possible.
7. Is water effective in the immunity system?
Water can do anything. Water is a magical element for your body. Water acts as an immunity booster. It brings proper oxygen to your body to help run your body system properly. It helps to maintain the balance of the body. Water is adequate for regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, etc. To build a solid immunity for your body, you need to drink eight glasses of water daily. It removes harmful toxins from your body. You can add lemon to your water also to get vitamin C.
8. How many Vedantu blogs of Immunity are there?
Vedantu is a platform where students can get information. It is an online tutoring application. Vedantu fulfils the requirements of a biology student. Their Immunity related blogs are so influential for students. In Vedantu, the subject teachers explain the immunity system in detail. Students can easily understand the body immunity system from their blogs related to Immunity. Moreover, you can download the study guide on immunity and its types as a PDF via Vedantu’s application to study according to your convenience.
