ABSTRACT

Immunology Introduction Immunology is the study of the response of the body to substances it recognizes

as foreign. The immune system can be separated into two divisions, innate and acquired immunity. The innate immune system responds quickly to foreign invad­ ers; however it is incapable of amplifying its response to repeated exposures to that same antigen. On the other hand, the acquired or adaptive system as it is also known requires more time to respond; however it recognizes specific features o f the antigen and upon subsequent exposures responds more efficiently. Innate immunity appears to have developed prior to the adaptive system. In addition to effector mechanisms that are characteristic o f the adaptive immune response, it is capable of recruiting the innate system to amplify the acquired response. Due to its ability to change, the acquired response is the primary focus of the field of immunology.