vocab Flashcards
Virulence
A microorganisms disease producing power
Immunity
The condition of being resistant or not susceptible to pathogens and the diseases they cause
Opportunistic infections
Infection by microorganisms that can cause disease only when a host’s resistance is low
Antibody
Highly specific proteins that attach themselves to foreign substances in an initial step in destroying such substances as part of the body’s defenses
Antigen
A foreign substance that stimulates white blood cells to create antibodies when it enters the body
Bacterial spore
A primitive thick walled reproductive body capable of developing into a new individual
Carrier
A reservoir body who is unaware of the presence of a pathogen
Endogenous infection
An infection which an abnormality or malfunction in routine body processes causes normally beneficial or harmless microorganisms to become pathogenic
Phagocyte
A specialized white blood cell that engulfs and digests pathogens
Macrophage
A type of phagocytosis cell found in the liver spleen lungs bone marrow and connective tissue
Sanitization
A reduction of the number of microorganisms on an object or surface to a fairly safe level
Sterilization
The destruction of all microorganisms including bacterial spores by specific means
Susceptible host
An individual who has little or no immunity to infection by a particular organism
Vector
A living organism such as an insect that Carrie’s microorganisms from an infected person to another perosn
