Infection Flashcards
Define infectious disease.
Disease that is transmitted from person to person eg common cold.
Define non infectious disease.
Non transmittable disease eg cystic fibrosis. M
Define interfaces.
Surfaces exposed to the environment and liable to infection.
Define toxin.
Chemical, produced by a pathogen, that is toxic to body cells.
Define bacteria.
Prokaryotic unicellular organisms.
Widely ranging features between species.
Some species pathogenic due to replication speed / toxin production.
Define virus.
Infectious agent that can replicate only inside living cells.
Replication leads to large numbers that are released to infect other cells.
Define retrovirus.
Virus composed of RNA that possesses the enzyme reverse transcriptase.
Define HIV
Human retrovirus transmitted by fluid contact leading to AIDS. No commonly used cure.
Define TB
Tuberculosis.
Bacterial infection, transmitted through the air, that primarily affects the lungs but can also damage other body tissues.
Complicated cure.
Define resistance.
Ability of bacterial individuals to survive after being exposed to antibiotics.
Define conjugation.
Transfer of plasmids through pilli between individual bacteria.
Leads to increased variation and can produce new resistance in previously non-resistant strains.
Define autolysis.
“Self-digestion.”
Destruction of the cell by its own enzymes, primarily hydrolases usually contained within lysosomes.
Define decomposition.
Breakdown of large organic matter into simpler substances by decomposers.
Define forensic entomology.
Use of information from the study of insects to help inform time and location of death.
Define pathogen
“Disease creating.”
An organism that is the causative agent leading to a disease state.
