Real-time learning for the mobile generation

Immunity, Immune System & Immunolgy

Introduction & Overview

In this introduction and overview you will discover through inquiry the "big" picture - a general, integrated overview of immunity and the immune system in addition to  key immunology concepts. You will learn that the immune system is typically divided into two categories - Innate or Non-Specific Immunity and Adaptive or Acquired Specific Immunity which is further divided into the Humoral- or Antibody-Mediated and Cell-Mediated Immune Responses. It should be noted that these distinctions are not mutually exclusive. To start off, let's Keep It Simple (KIS) in order to understand immunity visually!

Although the study of immunology began pragmatically in the 19th century, it remained largely a descriptive science until the early 1960s. During the last 50 years, the tools of modern biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology have transformed immunology into a discipline with a dual nature.

Innate immunity refers to non-specific defense mechanisms that come into play immediately or within hours or days of an immunogen's (antigen's) appearance in the body. These mechanisms include physical barriers such as skin, chemicals in the blood such as interferon, and immune system cells that attack foreign cells in the body. The innate immune response is activated by chemical properties of an immunogen (antigen).

Adaptive immunity refers to antigen-specific immune response. The adaptive immune response is more complex than the innate. The immunogen first must be processed and recognized. Once an immunogen has been recognized, the adaptive immune system creates an army of immune cells specifically designed to attack that immunogen. Adaptive immunity also includes a "memory" (clonal hypothesis) that makes future responses against a specific immunogen more efficient.

Immunology is the study of the cells of the immune system which is responsible for maintaining a homeostasis of health and health is important for all of us.

In creating this 'Spaced Out' micro-course, the shotgun approach is used.  Each question is only an introduction to more knowledge. This micro-course consists of 11 questions (Multiple Choice O, Multiple Correct Answers , and/or Fill In The Blank) comprised of Factual Type - 50%; Conceptual Type - 30%; Problem Solving Type - 20% delivered via a adaptive-repetition modality which you are free to change when you enroll. After answering each question, you will immediately be presented with your result as well as additional supporting material for review and further reflection. You will then have a choice to either retire the question or have it repeated as specified in the initial course spacing options when you enroll.

Textbook Chapter Readings

Kuby Immunology 6e, Publisher W.H. Freeman

Review Chapter 1 Overview of Immune System and do Key Terms Review 1, 2 & 3

Except where otherwise noted, content in this SpacedEd course
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Immunity, Immune System & Immunolgy

Immunology Micro-Courses consist of an Introduction & Overview plus 24 other micro-courses. The entire set of 25 Immunology micro-courses focuses on the essentials of immunity and fundamental cellular and molecular immunlogy.

The Introduction & Overview of Immunity, Immune System & Immunology is FREE until September 1, 2009 in order for you to determine the appropriateness to your learning needs and style; the subsequent 24 micro-courses have a $9.99 fee. Each micro-course will consist of 10-25 questions (Multiple Choice O, Multiple Correct Answers , and/or Fill In The Blank) comprised of Factual Type - 50%; Conceptual Type - 30%; Problem Solving Type - 20%. The Immunology micro-courses are delivered via a fixed-repetition modality which you are free to change when you enroll.

Principles of host defense mechanisms, immunological and non-immunological mechanisms; antibody-antigen reactions, cell development and cooperation in the immune response, regulation and genetic control, and synthesis, structure and genetics of antibodies and major histocompatability complex.

Content

Micro-Course #1: IMMUNITY, IMMUNE SYSTEM & IMMUNOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
     Introduction
     History
     Innate and Acquired Immunity
     Active, Passive, and Adoptive Immunization
     Characteristics of the Immune Response
     Cells Involved in the Acquired Immune Response
     Clonal Selection Theory
     Humoral and Cellular Immunity
     Generation of Diversity in the Immune Response 
     Regulation of the Immune Response 
     Summary
     References

Micro-Course #2: Overview of Microbiology & Virology
Micro-Course #3: Elements of Innate & Acquired Immunity
Micro-Course #4: Organs and Cells of the Immune System
Micro-Course #5: Nature Immunogens and Antigens (Ag)
Micro-Course #6: Antibody (Ab/Ig) Structure & Function
Micro-Course #7: Antigen-Antibody Interactions, Immune Assays, and Experimental Systems
Micro-Course #8: The Genetic Basis of Anitbody Structure and Diversity
Micro-Course #9: Biology of the B Lymphocyte (B-Cell)
Micro-Course #10: The Role of the Major Histocompatibilty Complex (MHC) in the Immune Response (IR)
Micro-Course #11: Biology of th T Lymphocyte (T-Cell)
Micro-Course #12: Activation and Function of B and T Cells
Micro-Course #13: Control Mechanisms in the Immune Response
Micro-Course #14: Cytokines
Micro-Course #15: The Complement System
Micro-Course #16: Hypersensitivity Reactions: Antibody-Mediated (TYPE I) Reactions
Micro-Course #17: Hypersensitivity Reactions: Antibody-Mediated (TYPE II) Cytotoxic Reactions and Immune Complex (TYPE III) Reactions
Micro-Course #18: Hypersensitivity Reactions: T-Cell-Mediated, Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity
Micro-Course #19: Autoimmunity
Micro-Course #20: Immunodeficiency and Other Disorders of the Immune System
Micro-Course #21: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Micro-Course #22: Transplantation Immunology
Micro-Course #23: Tumor Immunology
Micro-Course #24: Resistance and Immunization to Infectious Diseases
Micro-Course #25: Certification Examination Practice

Textbook

Kuby Immunology, 6e, Publisher W.H. Freeman

Except where otherwise noted, content in this SpacedEd course
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

This Fundamentals of Immunology macro-course is presented to help pre-med students, medical technologists, medical personnel, and other learners understand or review the nature of immunity, the immune system, immunology, infection, and what is necessary to maintain homeostasis. It will also prepare individuals for various certification examinations.

Please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from as well as what you do.

Further discussions and problem sets will be posted and held on Edmodo. Click on "Student" to signup and enter code for Immunology class: vlw766. Then go to Immunology after you signup and login thereafter.

As the need and circumstances arise, we will also use edu20 (signup and enroll or login with userid: guest8 password: guest8) and/or Moodle for features and functions not available on SpacedEd.