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Immunity
Innate vs acquired immunity
Both defend you — but one is the guard you're born with, the other a trained specialist that remembers.
Innate immunity
The non-specific defence you have from birth — skin and mucus, stomach acid and tears, and cells like neutrophils and macrophages. It meets every invader the same way, at once, with no memory.
Acquired immunity
Pathogen-specific defence built after exposure. The first meeting gives a slow, weak primary response; later meetings trigger a fast, strong secondary response — because it remembers.
The trap
The one word that separates them is specific. Innate = non-specific, no memory, present at birth. Acquired = specific, has memory, built over time. Vaccines train the acquired arm.
Quick check
Memory of a past infection is a feature of:
- AInnate immunity
- BAcquired immunity
- CBoth equally
- DNeither