Reproductive immunology

Reproductive Immunology

Reproductive immunology refers to a field of medicine that studies interactions (or the absence of them) between the immune system and components related to the reproductive system. The concept has been used by fertility clinics to explain the fertility problems, recurrent miscarriages and pregnancy complications observed when this state of immune balance is not achieved.

Pronunciation

Reproductive Immunology: /rɪˌprɒdʌktɪv ˌɪm.juː.nɒl.ə.dʒi/

Etymology

The term "Reproductive Immunology" is derived from the words "reproductive", meaning related to the process of reproduction, and "immunology", the branch of medicine and biology concerned with immunity.

Related Terms

Immune system: The bodily system that protects the body from foreign substances, cells, and tissues by producing the immune response and that includes especially the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, special deposits of lymphoid tissue (as in the gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow), lymphocytes including the B cells and T cells, and antibodies.

Reproduction: The process by which plants and animals produce offspring. Reproduction may be asexual when one parent organism can produce offspring without mating or sexual when two parent organisms contribute genetic material to produce offspring.

Fertility: The quality or state of being fertile, the ability to produce offspring.

Miscarriage: The spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus before it is viable, usually between the 12th and 28th weeks of gestation.

Pregnancy: The state of being pregnant, the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus.

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Reproductive immunology