Question

What does fever accomplish?

A) Fever inhibits bacterial reproduction and speeds the repair process.
B) Fever promotes cell lysis by direct cell attack.
C) Fever enables macrophages to attack microorganisms.
D) Fever prevents the spread of pathogens to adjacent tissues.
E) Fever prevents the formation of complement fixation.

Answer 1

A) Fever inhibits bacterial reproduction and speeds the repair process.

A fever occurs when the hypothalamus increases body temperature in response to infection. It helps fight infection by conserving iron, speeding up immune cell activity, inhibiting pathogens, and in some cases, directly killing them. However, extremely high fevers can be harmful.

Step-by-step explanation:

tThe question 'What does fever accomplish?' refers to the role of fever in the body's immune response. The correct answer is A) Fever inhibits bacterial reproduction and speeds the repair process. A fever occurs when the hypothalamus resets the body's thermostat to a higher temperature in response to the presence of endogenous pyrogens, which are chemicals released into the blood when bacteria are destroyed by leukocytes. This increase in body temperature has several benefits:

• It conserves iron, thus reducing a nutrient that bacteria need.
• It increases the activity of the body's enzymes and protective cells, making the immune response more effective.
• It inhibits the replication and activity of pathogens.
• In some cases, the elevated temperature may directly kill the pathogen.

Overall, a fever plays a crucial role in helping the body fight infection and contributes to the immune system's effectiveness.

However, while fever is a defense mechanism, it is also important to note that extremely high fevers can be dangerous and may lead to tissue and organ damage or even death, especially in responseo bacterial superantigens.