Which term refers to immunity that develops over the lifetime and provides long-term protection against specific invaders?

Which term refers to immunity that develops over the lifetime and provides long-term protection against specific invaders?

• A. Innate Immunity
• B. Passive Immunity
• C. Adaptive Immunity
• D. Active Immunity

Answer: (C)

Adaptive immunity is the part of the immune system that learns to recognize specific pathogens and remembers them for the future. After the body is exposed to a particular invader or receives a vaccine, B and T lymphocytes tailor a targeted response and create memory cells. These memory cells persist for long periods, so subsequent exposures trigger a faster, stronger reaction and long-lasting protection against that specific invader. This capacity to develop with time and to protect selectively over years or a lifetime is what sets adaptive immunity apart. Innate immunity is immediate and non-specific, not geared to lasting, specific protection. Passive immunity involves receiving antibodies from another source and is temporary. Active immunity describes the host actively mounting a response to an antigen (a process that underpins adaptive immunity), but the lasting, specific protection that develops over a lifetime is the hallmark of adaptive immunity.

Adaptive immunity is the part of the immune system that learns to recognize specific pathogens and remembers them for the future. After the body is exposed to a particular invader or receives a vaccine, B and T lymphocytes tailor a targeted response and create memory cells. These memory cells persist for long periods, so subsequent exposures trigger a faster, stronger reaction and long-lasting protection against that specific invader. This capacity to develop with time and to protect selectively over years or a lifetime is what sets adaptive immunity apart. Innate immunity is immediate and non-specific, not geared to lasting, specific protection. Passive immunity involves receiving antibodies from another source and is temporary. Active immunity describes the host actively mounting a response to an antigen (a process that underpins adaptive immunity), but the lasting, specific protection that develops over a lifetime is the hallmark of adaptive immunity.