Introduction Flashcards
What is another name for the human micro biome?
Normal Flora
What is the human micro biome? Functions?
- Normal population of organisms that populate our body, mostly bacteria, some yeast and fungi
- educates immune system, local and systemic
- helps digestion of food and synthesis of vitamins
- protects against harmful microbes
- inhibit establishment of pathogens (colonization of resistance)
Where do bacteria accumulate on our bodies? What part of our bodies is sterile? What happens if normal body b bacteria gain access to sterile sites?
- nasopharynx (nasal, oral)- S aureus
- skin- S aureus
- gastrointestinal tract- E coli
- urogenital tract
- vagina- strep, fragillis
- inner organs are sterile
- can become pathogens if gain access to sterile sites, or become immunocompromised
Definition of infection? Example?
- a microbe colonizes and grows in or on a host where it isn’t normally found
- ex. streptococcus pneumonia colonizes the nasopharynx or from another infected individual can gain access to the lung
What is an infectious disease? characteristics?
- an illness caused by the presence of a pathogenic microorganism growing in or on an infected host
- communicable
- can cause mortality, morbidity
How is a particular disease defined?
- signs
- symptoms
- syndrome
Signs?
- objective evidence
- something that can be detected or measured by someone else, what the doctor sees
- fever, heart rate, respiratory rate
Symptoms?
- subjective evidence
- something that must be described be the one suffering with the disease
- what the patient experiences
Syndrome?
the complete signs and symptoms associated with a specific disease
Signs and symptoms of pneumonia?
- chest pain with difficulty breathing
- high fever, shaking, chills
- excessive sweating
- fatigue
- cough with phlegm that persists or gets worse
Pathogen?
an organism that has the capacity to cause disease
Etiology?
the cause of a disease or condition (virus, prion, bacteria, fungi, parasite)
T/F Viruses and prions are not cells. Why?
True
- cannot grow on their own, have to infect a cell
- prions-infectious proteins
What type of cells are fungi and parasites (protozoa and helminths)?
eukaryotic cells- have membrane bound organelles
Why are fungi and parasites harder to treat?
they are eukaryotic cells, so they are similar to human cells
What type of cells are bacteria?
prokaryotic