Immunology
How the body recognises and defends against what doesn't belong.
The path through this topic
0 of 10 steps done.
ReadSelf, non-self and the markers of identityWhat the immune system reads before it decides to attack, and why a graft is rejected.
5 min- ReadInnate immunity: barriers, inflammation, phagocytosis
The first line — immediate, identical every time, and the same for every intruder.
6 min - ReadThe humoral response
B lymphocytes, plasma cells and antibodies — how the body neutralises what circulates in its fluids.
6 min - ReadThe cell-mediated response and immune cooperation
How the body deals with what hides inside its own cells, and why CD4 T cells command the whole system.
6 min - ReadMemory, vaccination and immune failure
Why the second encounter is different, how a vaccine exploits it, and what happens when the system breaks.
6 min - Memo cardsImmunology: memo cards
The whole of immunology as a deck: prompt on the front, answer on the back.
4 min 
Multiple choiceImmunology: the core responseSelf and non-self, inflammation, antibodies and the two arms of adaptive immunity.
5 min
Match pairsMatch the immune actorsPair each cell or molecule with the job it does.
4 min- Multiple choiceImmunology: harder cases
MHC classes, interleukin-2, vaccination versus serotherapy, and HIV.
4 min 
Put in orderOrder the immune responsesRebuild the inflammatory reaction and the humoral response step by step.
6 min
The molecules behind this subject
Real structures, at the scale this chapter happens on. Rotate them on the Mechanisms page.
In 3D: the Cell Lab
The cells from this course, built in 3D and cut open: touch their organelles to read their job and how they look under the microscope, then practise finding them.
Open the Cell Lab