Chapter 16: The Immune System, Antibiotics, and Drug Therapy Flashcards
Immune System
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A complex system made up of specialized organs, ducts, cells, and proteins; responsible for fighting infections and protecting the body.
Bone Marrow
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The spongey material inside bones that is responsible for white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
Lymphatic System
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The network of tubes and lymph nodes throughout the body.
Spleen
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An organ that filters blood and removes microbes and damaged red blood cells.
Pathogen
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A microorganism, such as a bacteria or virus, capable of causing an infection or disease.
Innate Immune System
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The immune system a person is born with, which orchestrates the body’s automatic response to pathogens and provides nonspecific immunity.
Nonspecific Immunity
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The type of immunity provided by the innate immune system, which responds similarly to all pathogens; also known as innate immunity.
Complement System
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A collection of proteins that trigger one another in a chain reaction to enhance the immune system by attracting inflammatory cells, marking some bacteria for destruction by phagocytes. killing other pathogenic microbes directly, and clearing immune complexes from the body.
Phagocytosis
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The process by phagocytes engulf and usually destroy pathogens and other particulate matter.
Adaptive Immune System
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System within the body that learns and remembers specific pathogens it has encountered and provides long-lasting protection and defense against recurring infections; also known as the acquired immune system.
Antibody
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A Y-shaped protein that recognizes and then binds to a specific type of antigen after the immune system has been exposed to that antigen.
Antigen
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A molecule or molecular structure, often found on the surfaces of pathogens such as bacteria or viruses; elicits an immune response and can bind with an antibody, T cell, or other product of that response.
Bacteria
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Single-celled microorganisms that exist in three primary forms: spherical (cocci), rod shaped (bacilli) and spiral (spirilla).
Pathogenic
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Causing or capable of causing disease or infection.
Bacterial Infection
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A condition in which bacteria grow in body tissues and cause tissue damage to the host either by their presence or by toxins they produce.
Aerobic
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Needing oxygen in order to survive.
Anaerobic
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Capable of surviving in the absence of oxygen.
Spectrum of Activity
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The range of bacteria against which an agent is effective.
Culture and Sensitivity Test (C&S test)
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A laboratory test that helps determine which antibodies have the best effect on a pathogen culture.
Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)
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The lowest concentration of an antibiotic needed to inhibit the growth of a bacteria.
Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic
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An antibiotic that is effective against multiple organisms.
Empirical Treatment
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Use of a medication to treat a patient before the specific microorganism causing their infection is identified.
Nosocomial Infection
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An infection acquired by a patient in a hospital or nursing home.
Bactericidal Agent
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A drug that kills bacteria.
Bacteriostatic Agent
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A drug that inhibits the growth or multiplication of bacteria.
Antibiotic Resistance
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The development by bacteria of defense mechanisms that resist, or inactive antibiotic used on those bacteria
Antiseptic
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A substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the outside of the body.
Disinfectant
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An agent that destroys infectious organisms on nonliving objects.
Sulfonamide
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A sulfa drug; a member of a class of bacteriostatic antibiotics that work by blocking bacteria from making folic acid, which is essential to their survival.
Steven-Johnson Syndrome
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A sometimes-fatal allergic reaction marked by red blotches on the skin.
Long QT Syndrome (QT prolongation)
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A heart rhythm disorder.
Arrhythmia
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A variation in heartbeat; irregular heartbeat.
Penicillin
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A member of a class of antibiotics obtained from Penicillium chrysogenum; kills bacteria by preventing them from forming a rigid cell well, thereby allowing an excessive amount of water to enter through osmosis and cause lysis of the bacterium cell.
Beta-lactamase
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An enzyme that destroys the beta-lactam ring present in the molecular structure of all penicillin.
Beta-lactamase Inhibitor
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An agent that inhibits beta-lactamase.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
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A bacteria that causes infections and is resistant to certain drugs.
Cephalosporin
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A member of a class of antibiotics that has a mechanism of action similar to that of penicillins but differs in antibacterial spectrum, resistance to beta-lactamase, and pharmacokinetics; divided into first-, second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth- generation agents.
Generation
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One of five numbered groups into which cephalosporins are organized.
Community-acquired
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Contracted outside of a hospital or nursing home.
Sepsis
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A life-threatening systemic inflammatory response to an infection.
Carbapenem
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A member of a class of drugs used for mixed infections that have both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Monobactam
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A member of a class of drugs used from Gram-negative bacterial infections.
Macrolide
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A member of a class of drugs that block bacteria’s ability to produce proteins for survival.
Lincosamide
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A member of a class of drugs that block bacteria’s ability to produce proteins for survival.
Loading Dose
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The amount of a drug that will bring its blood concentration rapidly to a therapeutic level.
Jaundice
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A yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Aminoglycoside
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A member of a class of antibiotics that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by binding to ribosomal subunits; commonly used to treat serious infections.
Synergistic Drug Therapy
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Drug therapy using two or more drugs together because they employ different mechanisms of action that work better together than either drug works alone.
Neuromuscular Blockade
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The blocking of neuromuscular transmission; skeletal muscle paralysis.
Tetracycline
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A member of a class of board-spectrum bacteriostatic antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis within bacterial cells.
Fluoroquinolone
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A member of a class of drugs that kill bacteria by inhibiting the enzyme that helps DNA coil; also known as quinolone.
Nitroimidazole
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A member of a class of drugs effective against fungi, protozoa, and bacteria.
Oxazolidinone
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A member of a class of drugs that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis.
Cyclic Lipopeptide
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A member of a class of drugs that bind to bacterial membranes, causing cell membrane depolarization.
Nephrotoxicity
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Toxicity that causes damage to the kidneys.
Otoxicity
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The ability to damage the organs of hearing, damage to the nerves that effect hearing.
pH
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A measurement of acidity or alkalinity.
Chancre
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A painless ulcer at the site of an infection.
Ergosterol
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A lipid unique to fungi.
Dermatophyte
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A type of fungus that can cause infection of the skin.
Candida
A common fungus that causes vaginal yeast infections and oral thrush.
Pulse Dosing
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Dosing that produces escalating antibiotic levels early in the dosing interval followed by a prolonged dose-free period.
Azole
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A member of a family of fungi that interfere with fungal cytochrome P450 and inhibit the formation of the fungal cell wall.
Echinocandin
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A member of a class of antifungals that work by inhibiting the synthesis of D-glucan, an integral component of the fungal cell wall.
Polyene
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A member of a class of drugs that interfere with cell-wall permeability.
Oral Candidiasis
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An infection in the mouth caused by yeast-like fungi of the genus Candida.
Normal Saline (NS)
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A sterile IV or irrigation solution containing a concentration of 0.9% sodium chloride in water.
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)
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An herb some patients use to treat the common cold, respiratory tract infections, or vaginal yeast infections.
