Intro to Medical Microbiology Flashcards
the three domains of life
- Bacteria (Prokaryote)
- Archaea (Prokaryote)
- Eucarya (Eukaryotes)
Procaryotes are
single-cell organisms that do not have a nucleus and lack membrane-bound organelles.
microbiology is the study of
micro organisms
applied microbiology is
medical microbiology
basic microbiology is
cellular microbiology.
Microbial causes of infection
- Bacteria – Prokaryotic
- Viruses – unclassified
- Fungi – Eukaryotic
- Parasites – Eukaryotic (usually [can be vector for
prokaryotes]) - Prions – unclassified
Bacterium:
Chiefly round, spiral or rod shaped single celled prokaryotic organism that typically lives in soil, water, organic matter or the bodies of plants and animals
Virus:
A unique, acellular, metabolically inert organism that only replicates within living cells.
Fungus:
Any of a kingdom of saprophytic (an organism which gets its energy from dead and decaying organic matter) and parasitic spore-producing eukaryotic typically filamentous organisms including moulds, yeasts, mushrooms and yeasts
Parasite:
An organism living in, with or on another organism
Prion:
Protein of unknown function that resides on the surface of brain cells. An abnormal form of prion protein that in mammals includes pathogenic forms that:
- arise spontaneously (e.g. genetic mutation)
- transmission (e.g. via infected tissue)
Upon accumulation in the brain cause a prion disease
e.g. BSE or CJD.
In micro-organisms size matters as
they can help determine what type of organism they are as they are sized differently.
Parasites size
microscopic to over 30m
Fungi size
2 to 10μm
Bacteria size
0.2 to 0.5μm
