The nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies is a naming scheme for assigning generic, or nonproprietary, names to monoclonal antibodies. An antibody is a protein that is produced in B cells and used by the immune system of humans and other vertebrate animals to identify a specific foreign object like a bacterium or a virus. "Monoclonal" antibodies are those that were produced in identical cells, often artificially, and so share the same target object. They have a wide range of applications including medical uses.