Term
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Definition
| Organism which provides nutrients, etc. to another organism. |
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Term
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Definition
| Organism which lives at the expense of (and may even harm) its host; generally smaller than the host and is metabolically dependent upon it. |
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Term
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Definition
| An upset in the homeostasis of the host, resulting in generation of observable changes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Objective evidence of damage to the host (fever, rash, vomiting) |
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Definition
| Subjective evidence of damage to the host (headache, anorexia) |
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Term
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Definition
| One in which detrimental changes in health of the host occur as a result of damage caused by a parasite. |
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Term
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Definition
| Microorganism that is capable of causing disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| A measure of pathogenicity. |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to cause disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| Microorganisms that readily cause disease (only small numbers of the microorganism are required to initiate and sustain infection). |
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Term
| Attenuated Microorganisms |
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Definition
| Microorganisms with reduced ability to cause disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| Microorganisms that do not cause disease. |
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Term
| Opportunistic Microorganisms |
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Definition
| Microorganisms that may or may not cause disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| Enable parasites to attach to host cells or tissues. Promote attachment |
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Term
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Definition
| Enable parasites to enter and/or move through host cells or tissues. Allows bacteria to infect the host |
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Term
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Definition
| Enable parasites to escape from host defenses. |
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Term
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Definition
| Enable parasites to damage host cells. |
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Term
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Definition
| Small, "simple" cells that typically have a cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane that contains ribosomes and a nucleoid comprised of one or more chromosomes with DNA genes. Have no membrane surrounding their nucleoid. |
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Term
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Definition
| Large, "complex" cells with a nucleus that contains multiple chromosomes (with DNA genes) surrounded by a membrane plus cytoplasm containing ribosomes and membrane-bound organelles (mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, vacuoles, chloroplasts, Golgi bodies). |
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Term
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Definition
| Acellular (not cells) nonliving entities made up of genetic material (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein coat (many also have a membrane called an envelope). They can reproduce themselves only by infecting cells and utilizing cellular materials and processes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Rigid structure that protects against osmotic pressure damage and provides cell shape--cylindrical (bacillus); spherical (coccus); helical (spirillum) |
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Term
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Definition
| Lipid/protein outer boundary of the cytoplasm regulates what goes in and out of the cell (permeability) |
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Term
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Definition
| Small RNA/protein particles required for protein synthesis |
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Term
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Definition
| DNA that contains only a few genes and is exchanged between bacteria (codes for antibiotic resistance or virulence factors) |
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Term
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Definition
| Intracytoplasmic storage bodies (may contain phosphates, iron, lipids, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
| Polysaccharide "coatings" secreted by cells (adhesins) |
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Term
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Definition
| Long, thin protein (flagellin) polymers that provide motility |
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Term
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Definition
| Long, thin protein (pilin) polymers that act as adhesins. |
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Term
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Definition
| Thick-walled protective structures; highly resistant to adverse environmental conditions (high temperature, drying, O2, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
| Process of cell enlargement and proliferation (increase in number) |
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Term
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Definition
| Proliferation; Division of a cell into two cells of equal size and composition |
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Term
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Definition
| study of the occurrence of disease in a human population, especially the cause and transmission of disease |
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Term
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Definition
| Literally, "upon the people"; commonly refers to an unusually high incidence of a disease in a community (population) at one time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The proportion (or percentage) of diseased individuals in a population at one time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The number of diseased individuals in a population at one time. |
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Term
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Definition
| Literally, "all the people"; indicates an epidemic involving more than one continent or a worldwide epidemic |
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Term
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Definition
| Literally, "in the people"; a disease is constantly present, usually at low incidence, in a population |
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Term
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Definition
| Appearance of several cases of a disease, usually in a short period of time, in an area previously experiencing no cases or only sporadic cases of the disease; "mini" epidemic |
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Term
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Definition
| Disease; sickness; clinical illness |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| A site in which infectious agents remain viable (alive) and from which infection of individuals may occur. |
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Term
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Definition
| An infected individual which is not showing obvious signs or symptoms of clinical disease, but which is shedding the etiologic agent for a long period of time (greater than six months) |
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Term
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Definition
| Diseases which occur primarily in animals but are occasionally transmitted to people |
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Term
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Definition
| Living agent which transmits infectious agents |
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Term
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Definition
| Non-living object that transmits infectious agents |
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Term
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Definition
| Fomites such as food or water |
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Term
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Definition
If a microorganism is the causative agent of an infectious disease it must be:
1. Present in every case of the disease, but absent from the healthy host
2. Isolated and grown in pure culture
3. Able to cause the disease when a pure culture is inoculated into a healthy host
4. Re-isolated from the host that was inoculated with the pure culture |
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Term
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Definition
| Infection or intoxication of many people from a single contaminated source; characterized by rapid onset, "sharp" peak and rapid decline in incidence |
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Term
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Definition
| Introduction of an infected person into a susceptible population leads to transfer of the etiologic agent to others, who transfer it to many others; characterized by a slow onset, "blunted" peak, and slow decline in incidence |
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Term
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Definition
| Infections caused as a result of medical procedures which have a good potential to introduce microbes into patient tissues |
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Term
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Definition
| Hospital-acquired infections |
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Term
| Innate Host Defense Factors |
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Definition
| Non-specific immune (resistance) factors that are present before infection; they work all the time and are effective against many different kinds of microbes |
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Term
| External Resistance Factors |
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Definition
| Innate host defense factors which act on body surfaces. |
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Term
| Internal Resistance Factors |
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Definition
| Innate host defense factors which act within tissues. |
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Term
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Definition
| Release of non-digestible material |
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Term
| Adaptive Host Defense Factors |
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Definition
| Immune factors that are triggered by antigens and are specific for those pathogens to which one is exposed. |
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