Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Microorganisms and Human Disease
N/A
56
Microbiology
Undergraduate 1
02/12/2011

Additional Microbiology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Host
Definition
Organism which provides nutrients, etc. to another organism.
Term
Parasite
Definition
Organism which lives at the expense of (and may even harm) its host; generally smaller than the host and is metabolically dependent upon it.
Term
Disease
Definition
An upset in the homeostasis of the host, resulting in generation of observable changes.
Term
Sign
Definition
Objective evidence of damage to the host (fever, rash, vomiting)
Term
Symptom
Definition
Subjective evidence of damage to the host (headache, anorexia)
Term
Infectious disease
Definition
One in which detrimental changes in health of the host occur as a result of damage caused by a parasite.
Term
Pathogen
Definition
Microorganism that is capable of causing disease.
Term
Virulence
Definition
A measure of pathogenicity.
Term
Pathogenicity
Definition
The ability to cause disease.
Term
Virulent Microorganisms
Definition
Microorganisms that readily cause disease (only small numbers of the microorganism are required to initiate and sustain infection).
Term
Attenuated Microorganisms
Definition
Microorganisms with reduced ability to cause disease.
Term
Avirulent Microorganisms
Definition
Microorganisms that do not cause disease.
Term
Opportunistic Microorganisms
Definition
Microorganisms that may or may not cause disease.
Term
Adhesins
Definition
Enable parasites to attach to host cells or tissues. Promote attachment
Term
Invasins
Definition
Enable parasites to enter and/or move through host cells or tissues. Allows bacteria to infect the host
Term
Evasins
Definition
Enable parasites to escape from host defenses.
Term
Toxins
Definition
Enable parasites to damage host cells.
Term
Prokaryotes
Definition
Small, "simple" cells that typically have a cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane that contains ribosomes and a nucleoid comprised of one or more chromosomes with DNA genes. Have no membrane surrounding their nucleoid.
Term
Eukaryotes
Definition
Large, "complex" cells with a nucleus that contains multiple chromosomes (with DNA genes) surrounded by a membrane plus cytoplasm containing ribosomes and membrane-bound organelles (mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, vacuoles, chloroplasts, Golgi bodies).
Term
Viruses
Definition
Acellular (not cells) nonliving entities made up of genetic material (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein coat (many also have a membrane called an envelope). They can reproduce themselves only by infecting cells and utilizing cellular materials and processes.
Term
Cell Wall
Definition
Rigid structure that protects against osmotic pressure damage and provides cell shape--cylindrical (bacillus); spherical (coccus); helical (spirillum)
Term
Cytoplasmic Membrane
Definition
Lipid/protein outer boundary of the cytoplasm regulates what goes in and out of the cell (permeability)
Term
Ribosomes
Definition
Small RNA/protein particles required for protein synthesis
Term
Plasmids
Definition
DNA that contains only a few genes and is exchanged between bacteria (codes for antibiotic resistance or virulence factors)
Term
Inclusions
Definition
Intracytoplasmic storage bodies (may contain phosphates, iron, lipids, etc.)
Term
Capsule
Definition
Polysaccharide "coatings" secreted by cells (adhesins)
Term
Flagella
Definition
Long, thin protein (flagellin) polymers that provide motility
Term
Pili
Definition
Long, thin protein (pilin) polymers that act as adhesins.
Term
Endospore
Definition
Thick-walled protective structures; highly resistant to adverse environmental conditions (high temperature, drying, O2, etc.)
Term
Growth
Definition
Process of cell enlargement and proliferation (increase in number)
Term
Binary Fission
Definition
Proliferation; Division of a cell into two cells of equal size and composition
Term
Epidemiology
Definition
study of the occurrence of disease in a human population, especially the cause and transmission of disease
Term
Epidemic
Definition
Literally, "upon the people"; commonly refers to an unusually high incidence of a disease in a community (population) at one time.
Term
Prevalence
Definition
The proportion (or percentage) of diseased individuals in a population at one time.
Term
Incidence
Definition
The number of diseased individuals in a population at one time.
Term
Pandemic
Definition
Literally, "all the people"; indicates an epidemic involving more than one continent or a worldwide epidemic
Term
Endemic
Definition
Literally, "in the people"; a disease is constantly present, usually at low incidence, in a population
Term
Outbreak
Definition
Appearance of several cases of a disease, usually in a short period of time, in an area previously experiencing no cases or only sporadic cases of the disease; "mini" epidemic
Term
Morbidity
Definition
Disease; sickness; clinical illness
Term
Mortality
Definition
Death
Term
Reservoir
Definition
A site in which infectious agents remain viable (alive) and from which infection of individuals may occur.
Term
Carrier
Definition
An infected individual which is not showing obvious signs or symptoms of clinical disease, but which is shedding the etiologic agent for a long period of time (greater than six months)
Term
Zoonoses
Definition
Diseases which occur primarily in animals but are occasionally transmitted to people
Term
Vector
Definition
Living agent which transmits infectious agents
Term
Fomite
Definition
Non-living object that transmits infectious agents
Term
Vehicles
Definition
Fomites such as food or water
Term
Koch's Postulates
Definition
If a microorganism is the causative agent of an infectious disease it must be:
1. Present in every case of the disease, but absent from the healthy host
2. Isolated and grown in pure culture
3. Able to cause the disease when a pure culture is inoculated into a healthy host
4. Re-isolated from the host that was inoculated with the pure culture
Term
Common-source Epidemic
Definition
Infection or intoxication of many people from a single contaminated source; characterized by rapid onset, "sharp" peak and rapid decline in incidence
Term
Propagated Epidemic
Definition
Introduction of an infected person into a susceptible population leads to transfer of the etiologic agent to others, who transfer it to many others; characterized by a slow onset, "blunted" peak, and slow decline in incidence
Term
Iatrogenic infection
Definition
Infections caused as a result of medical procedures which have a good potential to introduce microbes into patient tissues
Term
Nosocomial Infections
Definition
Hospital-acquired infections
Term
Innate Host Defense Factors
Definition
Non-specific immune (resistance) factors that are present before infection; they work all the time and are effective against many different kinds of microbes
Term
External Resistance Factors
Definition
Innate host defense factors which act on body surfaces.
Term
Internal Resistance Factors
Definition
Innate host defense factors which act within tissues.
Term
Egestion
Definition
Release of non-digestible material
Term
Adaptive Host Defense Factors
Definition
Immune factors that are triggered by antigens and are specific for those pathogens to which one is exposed.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!