IMMUNOLOGY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does immunology mean? 

• IMMUNOLOGY (noun)
  The noun IMMUNOLOGY has 1 sense:

1. the branch of medical science that studies the body's immune system

  Familiarity information: IMMUNOLOGY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IMMUNOLOGY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of medical science that studies the body's immune system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("immunology" is a kind of...):

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Domain member category:

immunofluorescence ((immunology) a technique that uses antibodies linked to a fluorescent dye in order to study antigens in a sample of tissue)

affinity ((immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody)

incompatibility ((immunology) the degree to which the body's immune system will try to reject foreign material (as transfused blood or transplanted tissue))

antigen (any substance (as a toxin or enzyme) that stimulates an immune response in the body (especially the production of antibodies))

antigenic determinant; determinant; epitope (the site on the surface of an antigen molecule to which an antibody attaches itself)

monovalent (containing only one kind of antibody)

polyvalent (containing several antibodies each capable of counteracting a specific antigen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "immunology"):

chemoimmunology; immunochemistry (the field of chemistry concerned with chemical processes in immunology (such as chemical studies of antigens and antibodies))

immunopathology (the branch of immunology that deals with pathologies of the immune system)

Derivation:

allogeneic (denoting or relating to cells or tissues from individuals belonging to the same species but genetically dissimilar (and hence immunologically incompatible))

immunologic; immunological (of or relating to immunology)

immunologist (a medical scientist who specializes in immunology)

xenogeneic (denoting or relating to cells or tissues from individuals belonging to different species)

 Context examples 

Sub-discipline of immunology which investigates the molecular interaction involved in antigen recognition and processing, antibody-antigen interactions, cell-cell interactions, cell death, etc.

(Molecular Immunology, NCI Thesaurus)

A subdiscipline of immunology with a focus on the nervous system and its interactions with the immune system.

(Neuroimmunology, NCI Thesaurus)

The field of chemistry concerned with chemical processes in immunology (such as chemical studies of antigens and antibodies).

(Immunochemistry, NCI Thesaurus)

A specialist in the science of immunology.

(Immunologist, NCI Thesaurus)

In immunology, may refer to the clonal proliferation of cells responsive to a specific antigen as part of an immune response.

(Clonal Expansion, NCI Thesaurus)

Additionally Vero cells, an African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line, are widely used in immunology and infectious disease research.

(African Green Monkey, NCI Thesaurus)

The Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) was created by the reorganization of NCI in 1995, and has the principal Federal responsibility for managing a grant- and contract-supported program of basic and applied research on cancer cell biology, including research on carcinogenesis and cancer immunology.

(Division of Cancer Biology, NCI Thesaurus)

Knockout mice are used as animal models for various diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, and are helping to clarify the functions of the genes studied within the fields of immunology, cancer genetics, and developmental biology.

(Knock-Out Mouse, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A person with professional knowledge and competence in the field of medical technology that involves performing, advising on, or supervising clinical laboratory testing of human specimens, fluids and tissues, establishing and monitoring quality control systems and measures; developing data which may be used in clinical setting and in support of medical research in such areas as hematology, bacteriology, mycology, virology, parasitology, immunology, serology, immunohematology, clinical chemistry, endocrinology and toxicology, and urinalysis as they relate to clinical laboratory practice.

(Medical Technologist, NCI Thesaurus)