What are they? Antibodies are proteins produced by a person's immune system that help the body to recognise and get rid of infection. Autoantibodies are antibodies that recognise parts of our own body. Autoantibodies can be found in healthy people, particularly as we get older, but they are also found in some autoimmune diseases. In a few specific...
An allergic reaction to proteins in a foreign serum, usually in response to an injection; it is characterised by symptoms such as fever, skin rash, pain and swelling in one or more joints, and kidney damage
The property of some materials to emit light when exposed to radiation or to light of a different colour. The light produced is called fluorescence. A fluorescent substance is one possessing the property of fluorescence.
One of the five classes of immunoglobulins; it is present primarily in the skin and mucous membranes and is believed to function in response to environmental antigens and to play a role in allergic reactions characterised by skin eruptions.
Specialised cells in the pancreas that produce and secrete one of several hormones that affect certain body functions; some examples include alpha cells that produce glucagon and beta cells that produce insulin.
Plural: glomeruli; one of a number of specialised structures in the kidney, composed of loops of specialised capillaries that filter blood, allowing small substances to pass through towards the urine but preventing loss of larger proteins and blood cells.