1 Microbiology: The Early Years Flashcards
Define “microbiology”.
The study of “microscopic” life-forms
What’re the four major groups of microbes?
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Fungi
- Protozoa
Name of scientist who - using simple microscopes - first observed and described bacteria and other microbes in 1676.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
What name did van Leeuwenhoek give to the microbes that he observed?
Animalcules
This theory suggests that diseases can be passed on to others by invisible particles through direct or indirect contact.
Contagion Theory (Girolamo Fracastoro, 1546)
This theory suggests that microorganisms are the actual cause of many human diseases
Germ Theory (Louis Pasteur, 1857)
This scientist developed 4 postulates that, if fulfilled, can prove a cause-effect relationship b/w a specific microbe and a specific disease.
Robert Koch (1876) [Koch’s Postulates]
What are Koch’s Postulates? (4)
- Suspected pathogenic organism = present in all disease cases, and absent from healthy inds
- Suspected pathogenic organism = grown in pure culture
- Pure culture of suspected pathogenic organism should cause disease in healthy ind
- Suspected organism = reisolated and shown to be the same as the original organism
Have Koch’s Postulates been fulfilled for ALL known diseases?
No.
Some due to ethical concerns, and some due to impracticalities (e.g. being unable to grow pure cultures)
Have we finally discovered ALL the disease-causing microbes?
Nope.
This person found that deaths in the maternity wards could be reduced if doctors washed their hands.
Ignaz Semmelweis (1847)
This person found that sterilizing surgical tools reduced post-surgical infections.
Joseph Lister (1865)
This person promoted hospital cleanliness as a way to prevent infections.
Florence Nightingale (1860s)
This person observed that inds who were infected w/ the cowpox virus never become infected w/ the smallpox virus
Edward Jenner (1796)
This person contributed to the pioneering of vaccinations.
Edward Jenner (1796)
