Chapter 4: Pathogenic Microorganisms Flashcards
What are the 4 categories that Pathogenic microorganisms fall into?
Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi and Parasites.
What portion of the bacteria have developed the ability to cause disease in humans?
A small minority of bacteria.
How are bacterias classified?
By their shapes as:
Rods (bacilli),
Spheres (cocci),
Spirals (spirochetes)
How does Disease-causing bacteria can enter the body?
Via the airways, digestive tract, breaks in the skin, or during sexual contact.
How does Viruses survive and reproduce?
They must invade living cells in order to survive and reproduce.
What happens after the viruses survive and reproduce?
The infected cells then break open and allow the progeny viruses access to nearby cells and the process repeats.
What is the best strategy for containing viral diseases?
Prevent them through vaccinations.
Fungi are microorganisms that include what?
Yeast and molds.
In humans, diseases such as ringworm, athlete’s foot, and thrush are caused by what?
By Fungi.
What is a Parasite?
A microorganism that lives on or within a host organism and gets its food at the expense of its host.
Of all parasitic diseases, which one causes the most deaths globally?
Malaria
How does Pathogens make us ill?
Pathogenic microorganisms have to reach their target site in the body, attack the target site they’re trying to infect, obtain their nutrients from the host and survive attack of the host’s immune system
