BRAINCAKENon-specific Responses
Non-specific responses act in the same way against any pathogen. They are fast, working within minutes to hours, but do not produce memory. They include barriers, inflammation, lysozyme, interferon, phagocytosis and fever (phagocytosis and fever have their own lessons).
Barriers: the skin has a tough outer layer of dead, keratinised cells, mucus in the airways traps pathogens, and stomach acid kills most microorganisms that are swallowed.
Inflammation: when tissue is damaged or infected, mast cells release histamine and other chemicals. Histamine causes:
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Key terms in this lesson
- mast cell
- A cell found in tissues that releases histamine and other chemicals during an inflammatory or allergic response.
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