Introduction to medical microbiology

Question 1

List the categories of micro-organisms that cause disease

Answer 1

bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, prions

Question 2

specimen types collected for UTI’s

Answer 2

mid-stream urine samples

Question 3

specimen types collected for chest infections

Answer 3

sputum

Question 4

specimen types collected for tonsillitis/pharyngitis

Answer 4

throat swab

Question 5

specimen types collected for wound of site of infection

Answer 5

swab of pus/tissue

Question 6

specimen types collected for diarrhoea

Answer 6

stool sample

Question 7

specimen type collected for bacteraemia

Answer 7

blood culture

Question 8

specimen types collected for meningitis

Answer 8

CSF sample

Question 9

the role of microscopy in diagnosis of bacterial infection

Answer 9

microscopy allows for the staining and quick detection of bacteria in samples

insensitive

Question 10

the role of culture in the diagnosis of bacterial infection

Answer 10

cultures allow bacteria to be grown overnight on a specific medium (agar)

colonies are visible to naked eye after incubation

strains can then be identified by colonial appearance and growth patterns

Question 11

sterile sites

Answer 11

blood, CSF, bladder, lungs

Question 12

non-sterile sites

Answer 12

skin, nasopharynx, urethra, gut

Question 13

methods of detecting viruses

Answer 13

electron microscopy, antigen detection, nucleic acid amplification, serology