antibody
n.
protein in the blood which reacts to infectious agents
Antibody
Antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins) are
proteins that are found in
blood or other
bodily fluids of
vertebrates, and are used by the
immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as
bacteria and
viruses. They are made of a few basic structural units called chains; each antibody has two large
heavy chains and two small
light chains. Antibodies are produced by a kind of white blood cell called a
B cell. There are several different types of antibody heavy chain, and several different kinds of antibodies, which are grouped into different
isotypes based on which heavy chain they possess. Five different antibody isotypes are known in mammals, which perform different roles, and help direct the appropriate immune response for each different type of foreign object they encounter.
See more at Wikipedia.org...
Antibody
antibody
Noun
1. any of a large variety of proteins normally present in the body or produced in response to an antigen which it neutralizes, thus producing an immune response
(hypernym) protein
(hyponym) autoantibody
(part-meronym) active site
antibody
noun
substance which is naturally present in the body and which attacks foreign substances (such as bacteria); tests showed that he was antibody-positive