{"id":2473,"date":"2021-07-01T19:47:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T02:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?p=2473"},"modified":"2021-07-01T19:47:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T02:47:45","slug":"mcat-immune-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-immune-system\/","title":{"rendered":"MCAT Immune System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Immune-System.jpg\" alt=\"Woman blowing her nose, representing MCAT immune system - image by Magoosh\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Immune-System.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Immune-System-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Immune-System-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/MCAT-Immune-System-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Want greater familiarity with the MCAT immune system content you&#8217;ll encounter on testing day? We&#8217;ll cover everything you&#8217;ll want to study for an in-depth understanding of the human immune system. Also feel free to check out our guide to all of the <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-biology-biochemistry-topics\/\">topics tested on the MCAT bio and biochem section<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For a PDF version of this information (and for more great MCAT resources), click the link below!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mcat.magoosh.com\/resources\/?utm_source=mcatblog&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=mcatresources&#038;utm_term=image&#038;utm_content=mcat-immune-system\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/06\/MCAT-Resources-Button.png\" alt=\"Click here to download more Magoosh MCAT resources\" width=\"540\" height=\"100\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/06\/MCAT-Resources-Button.png 540w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/06\/MCAT-Resources-Button-300x56.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s dive in! So first and foremost, <strong>the immune system consists of two parts: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system<\/strong>. We&#8217;ll cover each in depth below.<\/p>\n<h2>Innate Immune System<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Non-specific, immediate<\/li>\n<li>Components include: <strong>antimicrobials, phagocytes, cilia-lined passages, and interferons<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Active inflammatory response<\/li>\n<li>Recruitment of immune cells via release of <strong>cytokines<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cells of Innate Immune System<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Macrophages<\/li>\n<li>Mast cells<\/li>\n<li>Granulocytes<\/li>\n<li>Dendritic cells <\/li>\n<li>Natural killer cells<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Blood Cell Formation<\/h3>\n<p>Blood cell formation, also called hematopoiesis, can be illustrated as follows:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Diagram-of-blood-cell-formation.png\" alt=\"MCAT immunity questions: a complete diagram of blood cell formation - image by Magoosh\" width=\"620\" height=\"470\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Diagram-of-blood-cell-formation.png 620w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Diagram-of-blood-cell-formation-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Immune Cells (White Blood Cells, Leukocytes)<\/h3>\n<p>There are two central categories of immune cells:<\/p>\n<table id=\"tablepress-57\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-57 tablepress-responsive\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n<th class=\"column-1\">Granulocytes<\/th>\n<th class=\"column-2\">Agranulocytes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Neutrophils &#8211; phagocytes<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\">Lymphocytes (B and T cells)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Eosinophils &#8211; parasitic killer<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\">Monocytes (young macrophages, engulf invaders)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Basophils &#8211; histamine release<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!-- #tablepress-57 from cache --><\/p>\n<h2>Adaptive Immune System<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Specific<\/li>\n<li>Activated <strong>B-cells<\/strong> produce <strong>antibodies<\/strong> in response to pathogens (<strong>humoral immunity<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Antibodies bind to <strong>antigens<\/strong> of pathogen (for example, bacteria)<\/li>\n<li><strong>T-cells<\/strong> recognize antigen and signal for apoptosis (<strong>cell-mediated immunity<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cells of Adaptive Immune System<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Cells-of-adaptive-immune-system.png\" alt=\"a diagram of adaptive immune system cells, including B-cells and T-cells with examples and an explanation of function. Image by Magoosh.\" width=\"487\" height=\"409\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Cells-of-adaptive-immune-system.png 487w, https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2021\/07\/Cells-of-adaptive-immune-system-300x252.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Major Organs and Tissues<\/h3>\n<h4>1. Skin<\/h4>\n<h4>2. Lymphatic System<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bone marrow<\/strong>: produces all WBC&#8217;s, B-cell differentiation<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spleen<\/strong>: blood storage, B-cell activation<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thymus<\/strong>: T-cell differentiation<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lymph nodes<\/strong>: provide sites for cell communication and attack, B-cell activation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>3. Gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tonsils and adenoids<\/strong>: trap bacteria and viruses<\/li>\n<li><strong>Peyer&#8217;s Patches<\/strong>: monitors intestinal bacteria population<\/li>\n<li><strong>Appendix<\/strong>: creation\/protection of good bacteria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>MCAT Immune System Questions: A Final Word<\/h2>\n<p>The human immune system is highly complex and a deep understanding of how it works will help you immensely on the Bio\/Biochem section of the MCAT. We suggest studying the innate immune system and adaptive immune system separately, as well as in relation to one another. <\/p>\n<p>And as always, studying effectively goes beyond just memorizing the parts of the immune system. Instead, focus on how all of the interrelated parts work together to keep the human body healthy! <\/p>\n<p>For more MCAT practice, hop on over to <a href=\"https:\/\/mcat.magoosh.com\/?utm_source=mcatblog&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=mcathome&#038;utm_term=inline&#038;utm_content=mcat-immune-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Magoosh&#8217;s MCAT prep<\/a>, including 745+ practice questions, 380 lessons, and personalized email assistance. <\/p>\n<p>Happy studying and good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An overview of MCAT immune system questions, including a breakdown of the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":2485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2332],"class_list":["post-2473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mcat-biology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - 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She has a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in medical sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she earned the Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Kat has been teaching premed and nursing students since 2005 as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of San Francisco, Bowdoin, and the University of California, Berkeley, while collaborating on multiple research projects and publications. In addition to the MCAT, Kat has taught courses in Research Methods, Gender, Global and Environmental Health, and others. She is passionate about increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine and helping students get into the medical schools of their dreams. You can join Kat on Instagram and YouTube.","sameAs":["https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=yAi12ZYAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=sra","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshmcat\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCeSvixReLLS6squ5Adhe0wQ"],"honorificPrefix":"Dr.","honorificSuffix":"PhD","award":["Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (UCSF)"],"knowsAbout":["MCAT","Medical School","Medicine"],"jobTitle":"Senior Curriculum Manager, MCAT","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/author\/katthomson\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":2332,"user_id":218,"is_guest":0,"slug":"katthomson","display_name":"Kat Thomson","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bcb9e462420967ce0b7d455661151fc7ec2fc9c42e06bf1f531c50bedf72a68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Thomson","first_name":"Kat","description":"Kat is the Senior Curriculum Manager at Magoosh with a specialty in the MCAT. She has a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in medical sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she earned the Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Kat has been teaching premed and nursing students since 2005 as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of San Francisco, Bowdoin, and the University of California, Berkeley, while collaborating on multiple research projects and <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=yAi12ZYAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=sra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">publications<\/a>.  In addition to the MCAT, Kat has taught courses in Research Methods, Gender, Global and Environmental Health, and others. She is passionate about increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine and helping students get into the medical schools of their dreams. You can join Kat on  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshmcat\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a> and  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCeSvixReLLS6squ5Adhe0wQ\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2473"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}