Immunity. Historical Keywords
The Journal : Current Issue: "Immunity
From Latin immunitas (immunis, meaning exempt), immunity entered English as a legal term in the 14th century. But it was not until the late 19th century that, together with immune and immunisation, it became familiar in medical discourse. An awareness of the underlying concept had, however, existed for centuries, because of the observation that children who recovered from certain viral diseases rarely suffered again from the same disease. Immunology--defining the science concerned with responses to substances foreign to animal or human bodies--came into use in the early 20th century. Studies showed that Pasteur's initial observations of immunity, which had led to vaccines against chicken cholera, anthrax, swine erysipelas, and rabies in the 1880s and 1890s, were naive. The process was found to be far more complex and variable, giving rise to the doctrine of susceptibility or predisposition and to the differentiation of natural from acquired immunity.
In 1886, D E Salmon and T Smith found that birds inoculated with hog cholera bacilli killed by heat could withstand multiple doses of otherwise fatal live bacilli. Similar attempts to protect humans against cholera, plague, and typhoid fever followed with equal success. Earlier indications of the bactericidal powers of arterial blood were elaborated around the turn of the century when E Behring and S Kitasato's studies revealed the mechanisms of the capacity of cell-free serum to neutralise the toxins of tetanus and diphtheria infections. This work led to effective immunisation techniques to mobilise and stimulate the body's natural defences and to an understanding of specific types of immunity, such as passive, phagocytic, and toxin-antitoxin.
Another type of immune response, autoimmunity, deserves mention. At the end of the 19th century, Paul Ehrlich observed that the immune system required the body's ability to distinguish foreign from indigenous antigens. Understanding this issue became acute in the wake of World War II when the grafting of tissues and organs from one individual into another was found to be possible only among identical twins. In 1953, Peter Medawar discovered that grafts were not always rejected in mice if donor cells were injected into the prospective recipient while still in the womb or post-natally. This problem of immune intolerance has undermined the metaphoric simplicity of 'the body's defence system' in medical, if not popular, discourse.
Lise Wilkinson"
From Latin immunitas (immunis, meaning exempt), immunity entered English as a legal term in the 14th century. But it was not until the late 19th century that, together with immune and immunisation, it became familiar in medical discourse. An awareness of the underlying concept had, however, existed for centuries, because of the observation that children who recovered from certain viral diseases rarely suffered again from the same disease. Immunology--defining the science concerned with responses to substances foreign to animal or human bodies--came into use in the early 20th century. Studies showed that Pasteur's initial observations of immunity, which had led to vaccines against chicken cholera, anthrax, swine erysipelas, and rabies in the 1880s and 1890s, were naive. The process was found to be far more complex and variable, giving rise to the doctrine of susceptibility or predisposition and to the differentiation of natural from acquired immunity.
In 1886, D E Salmon and T Smith found that birds inoculated with hog cholera bacilli killed by heat could withstand multiple doses of otherwise fatal live bacilli. Similar attempts to protect humans against cholera, plague, and typhoid fever followed with equal success. Earlier indications of the bactericidal powers of arterial blood were elaborated around the turn of the century when E Behring and S Kitasato's studies revealed the mechanisms of the capacity of cell-free serum to neutralise the toxins of tetanus and diphtheria infections. This work led to effective immunisation techniques to mobilise and stimulate the body's natural defences and to an understanding of specific types of immunity, such as passive, phagocytic, and toxin-antitoxin.
Another type of immune response, autoimmunity, deserves mention. At the end of the 19th century, Paul Ehrlich observed that the immune system required the body's ability to distinguish foreign from indigenous antigens. Understanding this issue became acute in the wake of World War II when the grafting of tissues and organs from one individual into another was found to be possible only among identical twins. In 1953, Peter Medawar discovered that grafts were not always rejected in mice if donor cells were injected into the prospective recipient while still in the womb or post-natally. This problem of immune intolerance has undermined the metaphoric simplicity of 'the body's defence system' in medical, if not popular, discourse.
Lise Wilkinson"
posted by Aloyzio Achutti at 3:52 PM
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