What is immunohematology?
The study of antigen–antibody reactions involving blood cells
What is an antigen?
A substance that can stimulate the production of antibodies
What is an immunogen?
An antigen capable of inducing an immune response
What are the characteristics of a good antigen?
Foreignness, immunogenicity, specificity, and ability to bind antibodies
What determines antigen specificity?
The epitope or antigenic determinant
What is an epitope?
The specific part of an antigen that reacts with an antibody
What is a blood group antigen?
A genetically determined structure on the red cell membrane
What are the characteristics of blood group antibodies?
Specificity, reactivity, immunoglobulin class, and optimal temperature
What immunoglobulin is most ABO antibodies?
IgM
What immunoglobulin is most Rh antibodies?
IgG
What is an alloantibody?
An antibody produced against an antigen not present on one’s own cells
What is an autoantibody?
An antibody produced against one’s own antigens
What is the main difference between alloantibodies and autoantibodies?
Alloantibodies react with foreign antigens while autoantibodies react with self-antigens
What is Mendelian inheritance?
Transmission of traits based on genes inherited from parents
What is a gene?
A unit of heredity that determines a trait
What is an allele?
An alternative form of a gene
What is homozygous?
Having identical alleles for a trait
What is heterozygous?
Having different alleles for a trait
What is dominant inheritance?
Expression of a trait when only one allele is present
What is recessive inheritance?
Expression of a trait only when two recessive alleles are present
What is codominant inheritance?
Expression of both alleles equally
Which blood group system shows codominant inheritance?
ABO blood group system
What is Mendel’s Law of Segregation?
Allele pairs separate during gamete formation
What is Mendel’s Law of Independent Assortment?
Genes segregate independently of each other