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Difficulty: MediumHealth, Nutrition, and Disease

Passive immunity, such as that acquired by an infant through maternal antibodies in breast milk, stimulates the recipient's immune system to produce long-term memory B cells.

Answer: Answer

Answer

False
The statement is false because passive immunity involves the transfer of pre-formed antibodies from an outside source rather than an active immune response by the recipient. As a result, the recipient's immune system does not generate memory B cells, and the resulting protection lasts only as long as the transferred antibodies survive in circulation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the biological mechanism and category of immunity described in the statement.
Maternal antibody transfer via the placenta or breast milk represents naturally acquired passive immunity.
Classifying the specific type of immunity establishes whether the host's own immune system is actively engaged.
2
Analyze whether passive immunity stimulates the host to generate immunological memory.
Passive immunity introduces pre-synthesized antibodies that neutralize pathogens but degrade over time without activating B-cell proliferation into memory cells.
Immunological memory requires active antigen presentation and clonal expansion, which only occurs in active immunity.
3
Evaluate the veracity of the stem statement against immunological principles.
The claim that passive immunity produces long-term memory B cells is scientifically inaccurate.
Because passive immunity confers only transient protection without establishing immunological memory, the statement is false.

Key Concept

Distinction Between Active and Passive Immunity
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Health, Nutrition, and Disease

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