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Terms
An antigen is anything that binds to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor in the human body (both of which the body uses to identify foreign invaders). Typically, this causes a response from the body’s immune system. Viruses are a type of antigen; they take advantage of the body’s ability to remember antigens (and so prepare a stronger immune response against them).
Antigen Quotes in The Great Influenza
The The Great Influenza quotes below are all either spoken by Antigen or refer to Antigen. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
In the days before antibiotics, an infection launched a race to the death between the pathogen and the immune system. Sometimes a victim would become desperately ill; then, suddenly and almost miraculously, the fever would break and the victim would recover. This “resolution by crisis” occurred when the immune system barely won the race, when it counterattacked massively and successfully.
But once the body survives an infection, it gains an advantage. For the immune system epitomizes the saying that that which does not kill you makes you stronger.
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Antigen Term Timeline in The Great Influenza
The timeline below shows where the term Antigen appears in The Great Influenza. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...immune system attacks foreign invaders with white blood (which defend the body by killing unknown antigens), it’s called an “immune response.”
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...against future infections, since specialized white blood cells (“memory T cells”) remember the shape of antigen attackers, allowing them to respond quicker. Similarly, vaccines also alert the body in advance about...
(full context)
