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Science for Paramedics > Introduction to microbiology > Flashcards

Introduction to microbiology Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are commensals?

A

Bacteria that live harmlessly in the body making up the normal flora

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2
Q

When can commensals be harmful?

A

If they gain access to a different anatomical location (e.g. E. Coli in the urinary tract)

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3
Q

What are pathogenic bacteria?

A

Bacteria able to cause disease

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4
Q

What is virulence?

A

The ability to generate infection

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5
Q

What are opportunist bacteria?

A

Low pathogenicity bacteria that only cause infection in people with compromised immune status. They do not attack healthy tissues

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6
Q

What can compromise immune status?

A

Illness
Drugs
Invasive procedures

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7
Q

What colour are Gram-positive bacteria stained?

A

Dark blue or violet

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8
Q

What colour are Gram-negative bacteria stained?

A

Red or pink

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9
Q

How do bacteria cause disease?

A

Secreting toxic substances that damage tissues
Becoming parasites
Forming colonies

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10
Q

What shape are bacilli bacteria?

A

Rod shaped

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11
Q

What shape are cocci bacteria?

A

Round

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12
Q

What are pairs, groups and chains of cocci called?

A

Diplococci, staphylococci and streptococci

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13
Q

What shape are vibrios bacteria?

A

Curved rods

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14
Q

What shape are spirochaete bacteria?

A

Very small flexible spirally shaped bacteria

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15
Q

When would someone with an infectious respiratory condition transmit droplets?

A

Forceful exhalation, coughing or sneezing

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16
Q

What is vertical transmission?

A

Transmission via the placenta from the maternal to the foetal circulation

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17
Q

What is the purpose of bacteria releasing haemolytic enzymes?

A

Destroying RBCs

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18
Q

What is the purpose of bacteria releasing coagulase enzymes?

A

Clotting plasma, protecting the bacteria from phagocytosis

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19
Q

What are the two types of toxins and how do they differ?

A

Exotoxins: Secreted by Gram-positive bacteria and released outside the cell into the surrounding extracellular fluid destroying the host cells

Endotoxins: develop as part of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria, they are released on the death of of the bacteria

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20
Q

What are typical symptoms of bacterial infection?

A

Fever
Feeling generally unwell
Chills/shivering
Changes in vital signs
General bone, muscle and joint pain
Dry mouth
Loss of appetite
Headache
Nausea and vomiting
Enlarged and tender lymph nodes

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21
Q

How small are viruses?

A

20-300nm, only visible under an electronic microscope

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22
Q

What does each virus’ core consist of?

A

Nucleic acid, DNA or RNA but never both

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23
Q

How is a virus’s nucleic acid protected?

A

It is surrounded by a capsid (protein coat)

24
Q

What are enveloped viruses?

A

Viruses with an envelope (a lipid and protein capsule with structures permitting them to attach to their hosts)

25
Q

What are naked viruses?

A

Viruses without an envelope

26
Q

What quality in cells does Gram staining identify?

A

Thickness of the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall

27
Q

What components are present in the typical virus structure?

A

Nucleic acid, capsid, envelopes, spike proteins

28
Q

What is a virion?

A

An entire virus particle

29
Q

What is a viroid?

A

An infectious RNA molecule

30
Q

Where do DNA viruses replicate?

A

Inside the nucleus of the host cell

31
Q

Where do RNA viruses replicate?

A

The cytoplasm (after being transcribed)

32
Q

What kind if viruses bypass transcription?

A

RNA

33
Q

What type of viruses have a higher mutation rate?

A

RNA

34
Q

What type of virus has a more accurate replication?

A

DNA

35
Q

What kind of virus has their newly-synthesised nucleotides packed into a pre-formed capsid?

A

DNA

36
Q

What enables DNA virus infections to become latent and what does this mean?

A

The DNA can become integrated into the DNA of the host cells. It means they can become reactivated in certain circumstances and possibly result in a malignant transformation of the host cell.

37
Q

What are the stages in a virus life cycle?

A

Gaining entry (endocytosis) leaving its protein capsule on the cell’s surface

Nucleic acid release, becoming incorporated into the host DNA assuming command of genetic control, making it produce viral proteins rather than its own.

RNA viruses use an enzyme (reverse transcriptase) to produce DNA templates of their own RNA for incorporation into the host chromosomes

Lysis or host cell division.

38
Q

What are the two mechanisms for viruses entering the cell body?

A

Entry by interaction with a specific cell receptor

Fusion directly with the cell wall

39
Q

How do viruses cause tissue injury?

A

Direct cytoplasm effect (fatal ionic imbalance, or nucleic material/amino acid deprivation)

Induction of immune response (Causes new antigens to appear on the cell surface, the hosts immune system then recognises the cell as a foreign body and destroys it)

Incorporation of viral genes into the host’s chromosomes (Transforms hosts behaviour, underlies the ability of some viruses to induce tumours)

40
Q

What is mycosis?

A

Fungal infection

41
Q

What is mycelium?

A

Complex fungi form existing as an extensive interwoven mesh

42
Q

How do pathogenic fungi sustain themselves?

A

They cannot produce their own food so must consume or parasite other organisms

43
Q

What are the 4 mains germs?

A

Protozoa
Fungi
Bacteria
Viruses

44
Q

What are the 3 types of mycoses?

A

Superficial - Superficial in the skin and it’s appendages (hair, nails) or in the mucus membrane

Subcutaneous - Skin, subcut tissues and bone, slow localised spread

Systemic- Deeper tissues, mainly immuno-compromised patients

45
Q

What are protozoa?

A

Unicellular eukaryotes, larger than bacteria with DNA organised in a nucleus.

46
Q

What kind of pathogen is MRSA?

A

Bacteria (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

47
Q

What are Amoebas?

A

Large protozoa that change shape, extending their membranes to form pseudopodia (false feet) that pull them along include entamoeba organisms that cause dysentery

48
Q

What are flagellates?

A

Protozoa that move by flagella, include giardia organisms that cause diarrhoea

49
Q

What are ciliates?

A

Protozoa that move with cilia, include balantidium organisms that infect the GIT

50
Q

What are sporoza?

A

Protozoa with organelles at their tips that allow them to enter host cells. Usually invade two hosts to complete their life cycle, include the plasmodia that cause malaria

51
Q

Are parasites singular i
or multicellular?

A

Multicellular

52
Q

What are nematodes?

A

Round worms, large parasites that infest a variety of tissues, often transmitted by food or flies that bite e.g. ascaris

53
Q

What are palythelminths?

A

Flat worms, large parasites that can infest several different human organs e.g. schistosoma

54
Q

What are arthropods?

A

Parasites that include mites, ticks, lice and fleas

55
Q

What are prions and what do they do?

A

Pathogenic protein molecules that convert normal proteins of the body into abnormal proteins, causing abnormalities of function

56
Q

What are Rickettsiae and Chlamydiae?

A

Small organisms that rely in their hosts to grow and reproduce but are susceptible to antibiotics

57
Q

What are mycoplasmas?

A

Prokaryotes like bacteria but lacking a cell wall, they are able to change their shape during growth

Science for Paramedics (18 decks)

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