Lecture 2

History * 430BC
First noted vaccinations, through observations of individuals recovering from certain
diseases protected from being infected a second time.
Only previously plagued could nurse the ill.
2000 years later, medically effective practice.
Spartans contaminated the aqueducts with dead rats infected with plague.
First description of immunity. 430BC
History of smallpox dated back to 10,000 BC with earliest credible evidence being found in
Egyptian mummies of people who died ~ 3000 years ago.
During C18 smallpox killed an estimated 400,000 people each year, responsible for 1/3 of all
blindness
Mortality rate of small pox adults 20 60%, and for children over 80%
During C20 approx. 300-500 million deaths due to small pox.
Early 1950s est. 50 million cases of smallpox occurred in the world each year.
1967, est. 15 million people contracted the disease, and 2 million died.
C19 & C20 eradication of smallpox in December 1979 after successful vaccination
campaigns.
Smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely eradicated.
Learning outcomes
Understand why the immune system is important
Distinguish between Innate and Adaptive Immunity
Purpose of the Immune System
The body is constantly under attack from things that are trying to do harm.
Including;
o Toxins
o Bacteria
o Fungi
o Parasites
o Viruses
All of these under the right conditions, cause damage and destruction to parts of the body.
It is the purpose of the immune system to act as the bodys own army, in defence against
this constant stream of possible infections and toxins.
Increase exposure for better antibody response, gene rearrangements.
For antibodies to bind to antigens, the antigens have to undergo gene rearrangements for a
better fit.
Human immune system is divided into two broad groups:
o Acquired Immune System
The acquired immune system needs to be primed before it can work to its
full effectiveness though, and is only really effective after it has seen a
possible infective agent before.
Highly specific: uses antibodies and cells such as CD4+
o Innate Immune System
The innate immune system is always working to protect the body and does
not require any special preparation to stop infection.
Non-specific: i.e. effective against many different organisms.
Physical barriers include: intact skin and mucous membranes, cells such as
neutrophils and macrophages and proteins such as complement and
lysozyme.
o

Notes: Humoral antibodies, humour extracellular fluid. Blood borne can also be in the
lymph
Immunity
o The main function of the immune system is to prevent or limit infections by
microorganisms.
o The parts of the body that play a role in immunity are:
The Lymphatics
Lymph nodes Periphery & gut
The Thymus T cells
The Spleen B cells antibodies
o First line of defence against a microorganism is the intact skin and mucous
membranes.
o During acute stress, peripheral lymphoid move to the primary lymphoid through
trafficking. Safety mechanism.
o If the front line is compromised, the second line of defence is engaged (the innate
system) and is capable of destroying the invaders.
o As the innate arm of the immune system is preformed and fully active it functions
upon immediate entry of a microorganism.
o Main components of innate and acquired immunity that contribute to humoral