Definition of Acquired immunity
1. Noun. Immunity to a particular disease that is not innate but has been acquired during life; immunity can be acquired by the development of antibodies after an attack of an infectious disease or by a pregnant mother passing antibodies through the placenta to a fetus or by vaccination.
Medical Definition of Acquired immunity
1.
A form of cellular defense which identifies certain foreign substances (antigens) as harmful to the body. For this reason, the body can acquire resistance to a particular foreign agent.
These foreign agents are then attacked by sensitised T lymphocytes (cellular immunity). White blood cells, plasma cells, B lymphocytes and other specialised immune system cells act in concert with T lymphocytes to produce antibodies (humoral immunity) that attach to the antigen directing T-cells to attack.
Antibodies also stimulate the release of special chemical mediators in the blood (for example complement, interferon) that further enhance antigen destruction.
(13 Nov 1997)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Acquired Immunity
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