A substance or group of substances meant to cause the immune system to respond to a tumor or to microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses.
Any substance, bearing antigens on its surface, that causes activation of an animal’s immune system without causing actual disease. The animals’ immune system components (e.g., antibodies) are then prepared to quickly vanquish those particular pathogens when they later enter the body.
A substance that prevents infection or establishes immunity to a disease.
A substance which contains antigens to a disease or a weak form of a disease, used to protect people against it.
A preparation used in immunization, made up of dis¬ ease organisms, weakened or killed so that they will not give a person the disease even while their presence causes the body to manufacture antibodies that will thereafter (for a limited time or a lifetime) protect the person from the disease. The vaccine is usually administered by an injection or taken through the mouth.
A substance typically consisting of a modified infectious microorganism that is administered to help prevent disease by stimulating the endogenous immune defense mechanisms against infection.
Substances for the production of artificial active immunity (see immunity) being killed or attenuated cultures of stock strains of virus or bacteria (for general use) or cultures from a given patient, the (‘autogenous’) vaccine being for his treatment only.
Preparation of attenuated (weakened) or Wiled disease-producing viruses or microorganisms (or of substances extracted from them) administered by mouth or by injection to induce active immunity to the specific disease.
Killed or attenuated bacterial or viral cells or cell fragments used to trigger the production of antibodies and memory B lymphocytes specific to that pathogen; routinely used to prevent diseases; also) known as immunization.
A substance made from disease-causing material that has been modified so it will not cause disease when introduced into the body but will stimulate the formation of antibodies to that disease.
A preparation introduced into the body to stimulate an immune response to provide future protection against, or immunity to, certain infectious diseases. Vaccines contain killed or weakened forms of infectious organisms or particles of an infectious organism that stimulate the immune response without producing an actual infection.
A special preparation of antigenic material that can be used to stimulate the development of antibodies and thus confer active immunity against a specific disease or number of diseases. Many vaccines are produced by culturing bacteria or viruses under conditions that lead to a loss of their virulence but not of their antigenic nature. Other vaccines consist of specially treated toxins (toxoids) or of dead bacteria that are still antigenic. Examples of live but attenuated (weakened) organisms in vaccines are those against tuberculosis, rabies, and smallpox. Dead organisms are used against cholera and typhoid; precipitated toxoids are used against diphtheria and tetanus.
The name applied generally to dead or attenuated (that is, ‘weakened’) living infectious material introduced into the body, with the object of increasing its power to resist the disease.
An infectious liquid that Edward Jenner (Brit, physician, 1749-1823) derived from cowpox lesions, and used to prevent and attenuate smallpox in humans.
A substance that is usually prepared from killed or weakened pathogens or from genetic material and that is introduced into a body to produce immunity.
A substance or group of substances meant to cause the immune system to respond to a tumor or to microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses. A vaccine can help the body recognize and destroy cancer cells or microorganisms.
A substance that contains small amounts of dead or modified pathogens or their toxins and is used in vaccination.
A formulation comprising of either deceased or attenuated microorganisms is utilized to establish immunity against infections caused by those specific microorganisms. This preparation, commonly referred to as a vaccine, serves the purpose of fortifying the body’s defense mechanisms and providing protection against potential infections caused by the targeted microorganism.
A substance administered to provide immunity against a specific infectious disease. Most vaccines include the actual pathogens or components of them that the vaccine aims to protect against.
Vaccines are commonly administered through a shot in the upper arm, although some, like the polio vaccine, can be taken orally. Some vaccines necessitate multiple doses given over a period of weeks, while others only require a single dose.
A formulation of weakened or inactivated microorganisms given to prevent or treat infectious diseases.