Question

a) Distinguish between antigens and antibody.
b) What are serums?
c) Distinguish between blood plasma and serum. [5 MARKS]

Answer 1

a) 2 Marks
b) 2 Marks
c) 1 Mark

a) Antigens and Antibody: Antibodies are the chemicals made by the white blood corpuscles in response to the stimulus of microbes present in the blood. The substances that stimulate the white blood cells to produce the antibodies are antigens.

b) The biological preparation used for insulation is called serum. The blood of a person who has recently recovered from a disease will contain antioxins and antibodies. If the blood cells and fibrinogen are removed from a sample of the blood, a serum is obtained.

c) Blood plasma is the straw-coloured liquid in which blood corpuscles and blood platelets are suspended while serum is the blood plasma from which fibrinogen is removed.