Week 2 - Microbiology Flashcards
A micro-organism that causes disease
Pathogen
Unicellular organism that does not require living tissue to survive
Bacteria
A micro-organisms that can only reproduce inside a host cell
Virus
Presence and multiplication of micro-organism that is not yet causing disease
Colonisation
Spore-bearing eukaryotic micro-organism
Fungi
Single-cell micro-organism that reproduce asexually by cell division
Protozoa
Parasitic intestinal worm
Helminth
Infection by a non-pathogenic organism that has become pathogenic
Opportunistic Infection
A generic term for the ability of a pathogen to cause disease
Virulence
Infection that develops during hospitalisation
Nosocomial Infection
The invasion of the body’s tissues by pathogenic agents
Infection
A chemical agent that inhibit growth or kill microbes
Anti-microbials
A chemical agent used to manage infection caused by pathogenic bacteria
Antibiotics
Antimicrobial substances that are applied to tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection
Antiseptics
Capacity of microbes to cause disease
Pathogenicity
Rod-shaped bacteria
Bacilli
Spherical-shaped bacteria
Cocci
Wavy-shaped bacteria
Spiral
Bacteria arranged into irregular clusters
Staph
Bacteria arranged into chain clusters
Strep
Bacteria arranged into pair clusters
Diplo
Usually produced from gram+ bacteria, very toxic, protein substance
Exotoxin
Present in the cell wall of gram- bacteria, liposaccaride; very toxic
Endotoxin
The primary method of reproduction of bacteria
Binary fission
Bacteria that give a + result in the gram stain test, due to their thick peptidoglycan cell wall
Gram+
Bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain as they have a thin peptidoglycan cell wall
Gram-
Tiny hairlike structures to assist in attachment of bacteria to tissue and share genetic material
Pili
A method of staining used to differentiate bacterial species into 2 large groups (gram- and gram+)
Gram staining
Bacteria that can live and grow in the presence of oxygen
Aerobic
Bacteria that can live and grow in the absence of oxygen
Anaerobic
Pathogen that remains confined to a location
Local infection
Infection spreads to many sites, typically through the circulation
Systemic infection
Multiplication of pathogens in the blood
Septicemia
A life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection injures its own tissues and organs
Sepsis
Presence of bacteria in the blood
Bacteremia
Presence of bacteria toxins in the blood
Toxemia
Presence of viruses in the blood
Viremia
Infection and clinical manifestations caused by single pathogen type
Primary infection
Infection caused by pathogen other than that in primary infection, usually opportunistic
Secondary infection
Does not cause any apparent clinical manifestations
Subclinical infection
Refers to the time between pathogen entry and first appearance of clinical manifestations
Incubation phase
Time taken when an infected person will start to feel sick and fatigued
Prodromal phase
Infection obvious, clinical manifestations peak
Acute phase
