ImmunodeficiencyImmunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affect the patient's immune system. Examples of these extrinsic factors include HIV infection and environmental factors, such as nutrition. Immunocompromisation may also be due to genetic diseases/flaws such as SCID.
PathogenIn biology, a pathogen (from Greekπάθος (pathos)'suffering, passion' and -γενής (-genēs)'producer of'), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism, agent or micro-organism that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ.
Immune systemBiological system protecting an organism against diseaseThe immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, as well as cancer cells and foreign objects, such as wood splinters—distinguishing them from the organism's own healthy tissue. Many species have two major subsystems of the immune system.
AllergyImmune system response to a substance that most people tolerate wellMedical conditionAn allergy is an exaggerated immune response where the body mistakenly identifies an ordinarily harmless allergen as a threat. Allergic reactions give rise to allergic diseases such as hay fever, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergies, and anaphylaxis.
Signs and symptomsIndications of a specific illness, including psychiatricSigns (including enlarged liver and spleen) and symptoms (including headache and vomiting) of acute HIV infectionSigns and symptoms (S/S) are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. While signs are objective and externally observable, symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.
HypersensitivityOverreaction of the immune system to an antigenMedical conditionHypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction) is an immune response characterized by mechanisms that cause significant tissue damage or physiological dysfunction, whether directed against pathogens, harmless environmental antigens, or self-antigens that is reproducible upon re-exposure to the antigen.
Autoimmune diseaseDisorders of adaptive immune systemMedical conditionAn autoimmune disease is a condition causing disease that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated that there are more than 80 recognized autoimmune diseases, with recent scientific evidence suggesting the existence of potentially more than 100 distinct conditions.
Abnormality (behavior)In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when it is atypical or out of the ordinary, consists of undesirable behavior, and results in impairment in the individual's functioning.
HumanSpecies of hominid in the genus HomoHumans (Homo sapiens, meaning 'thinking man' or 'wise man') are the most abundant and widespread species of primates, characterized by bipedalism, minimal body hair, and large, complex brains enabling the development of advanced technology, culture, and language.
PainPain is a distressing bodily feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotionalexperience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." Pain motivates animals to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future.
InjuryInjury is physiological damage to an organism. The response to injury, whether in humans, in other animals, in plants, in fungi, or in single-celled eukaryotes such as choanoflagellates, is substantially shared, implying that the mechanisms are ancient. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanical trauma, toxins, interactions with other organisms, or abiotic factors in the environment.
Function (biology)In evolutionary biology, function is the reason some object or process occurred in a system that evolved through natural selection. That reason is typically that it achieves some result, such as that chlorophyll helps to capture the energy of sunlight in photosynthesis. Hence, the organism that contains it is more likely to survive and reproduce, in other words the function increases the organism's fitness.
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