Types of Immunity

The concept of immunity applies to situations that are exempt from an external agent that may affect its operation. This means that an organism develops a type of defense against the effects of pathogens . This is thus defined from the biological, physiological and genetic point of view. We are talking about the ability to avoid negative effects on bodies.

By reviewing the concept of “immunity” from another perspective, we can apply it to what is known in diplomacy, precisely as “diplomatic immunity.” This means that a person who is dedicated to the career of diplomacy, be it an ambassador, consul or cultural, commercial or military attaché; Due to their condition, they have the right to civil and legal guarantees in a foreign country.

In another sector, such as parliament or congresses, as it is known in certain countries, immunity is directly related to legislators who have precisely “parliamentary immunity” (in some places they are known as “jurisdiction”), who it means that in terms of law, they cannot be brought to trial, be it criminal, civil or commercial.

Types of immunity

Acquired Immunity

This is a type of immunity process that generally develops in vertebrate-type animals, and its main characteristic is that once the immune system faces the pathogenic agents that attack the cells, it achieves that the organisms present some type of affectation and/or disease, for the second time.

It is for that reason that the durability of this immune system lasts longer compared to other types. Among its main characteristics is that of being very specific in its functions when attacking pathogens. In addition, they are capable of giving a positive response to a significant amount of antibodies that may be present in the body.

This means that given the nature of this immune system, it is possible to react proactively and promptly against certain pathogens. And they can do it over a long period of time, without affecting their ability to attack. When the immune system does not need to be in an active state, it can revert to a resting state.

According to a consensus classification, there are two types of immunity in acquired form and they are: the so-called “cellular immunity”: which is made up of a series of lymphocytes that are capable of facing certain intracellular microorganisms. There is also the “humoral immunity”: which is made up of a type of antibody within the blood capable of fighting against antigens.

Artificial immunity

In this case, we have that the immune system is acquired by the human being when, by indications of the specialist doctor, it is subjected to a treatment and even a therapy process; according to the case. For this purpose, two types of “artificial immunity” have been developed, such as the so-called “active immunity” and “passive immunity”. Terms we review next.

Active Immunity

For it to manifest in the body, what is done is that a type of stimulation is carried out externally so that the antibodies that are necessary at the moment are developed. This in order that they can face pathogens that damage the body. The most common case is the use of vaccines designed for certain types of diseases.

Passive Immunity

In this case, for an immunological process to occur, it is necessary to implement what is known as a “serum therapy” procedure, which consists precisely in applying a blood-type serum to a patient to combat some pathogens that affect the health of the patient. person. This type of procedure is applied when “active immunization” does not work properly.

Natural immunity

In technical terms, this type of immunity is known as “congenital immunity” or “innate immunity”; which is reduced to an action that develops by developing a defense against pathogenic affectations that occur naturally in a person’s body. The mechanism that develops in this type of immunity occurs when genes are transmitted biologically.

Within the immunity that occurs naturally, we have two forms of manifestation such as the so-called active immunity and passive immunity. Below we review each of them for a better understanding of the subject and then we point out the cells that participate in the process of natural immunity.

Active Immunity

This occurs once the person suffers from some type of infection such as respiratory; or when it generates an “active immunization”. What this causes is that a fight between the immune system and a pathogen is confronted. One of the main characteristics of this type of immunization is that it can develop permanently in the person’s body.

Passive Immunity

As the term warns, this type of immunization occurs passively in people, and due to the characteristics of the system itself, it tends to last very little. Where it frequently occurs is in newborns and even in the fetus in its maturation stage in pregnancy. Immunological agents are precisely transmitted by the mother.

Now let’s review some cells that are involved in a process of natural-type immunity. These are the so-called “natural killers” and the “phagocytes”. Both have a very active participation and influence on the immune system of people. That is why it is important to know a little about them, for a better understanding of the immune system.

Natural killers

The way in which these are manifested is through the so-called “leukocytes”, which have the main function of being activated when some type of virus appears in a person’s body. It is then understood that the central function of these is to “cure” those cells that have been negatively affected and are prone to manifest a disease.

Phagocytes

The main activity of this type is to adapt the cells in a process of “phagocytizing” those elements that are harmful to the cells. Especially when these occur on what is known as epithelial-type surfaces. The way in which the “phagocytize” mechanism occurs consists of surrounding the microorganisms and eliminating them.