Infectious Diseases Lesson 1.4

Toxigenicity

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Aerosol

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Chronic carrier

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Germination

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Nonpathogenic

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Acute

A disease with a more or less rapid onset and short duration

Chronic

A disease with a more or less slow onset and long duration

Terminal infection

An acute infection, commonly pneumonic or septic, that occurs toward the end of a disease and often causes death.

General infection

An infection that becomes systemic/moves throughout the entire body

Passive carrier

Carrier that transmits a microbe, but does not suffer from any clinical symptoms

Attenuation

Dilution or weakening of a microbe's ability to cause disease

Secondary infection

Infection caused by a different organisms than the one causing the primary infection.

Infestation

The presence of macroscopic organisms.

Infection

The state or condition in which the body or a part of it is invaded by a pathogenic agent that, under favorable conditions, multiplies and produces injurious effects; steps include incubation, prodromal, invasion, fastigium, defervescence, and recovery

Lipase

a bacterial enzyme that acts with the oils and fats secreted by the sebaceous glands allowing bacteria to colonize in the skin

Coagulase

a bacterial enzyme that causes blood to clot by converting fibrinogen into fibrin

Hyaluronidase

a bacterial enzyme that penetrates the body's connective tissues, permitting the easy spread of infection throughout the body; breaks down the "glue" that holds cells together

Lysin

a basic amino acid that is a constituent of most proteins. It is an essential nutrient in the diet of vertebrates.

Active carrier

a carrier who houses the microbe and exhibits a recognizable attack from the microbe; transmits a microbe while suffering from symptoms of a disease

Endemic disease

a disease that is continuously present in a community

Communicable/Contagious Disease

a disease that may be transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual/host to another

Droplet spray

a means of direct transmission of a microbe; the aerosol spray particles that come out of the nose and mouth

Pathogen/Pathogenic Microbe

a microbe which may cause a disease in the human body

Healthy carrier

a person who harbors and spreads pathogenic microorganisms without giving evidence of disease.

Neurotoxin

a poison that acts on the nervous system.

Leucocidin

a substance able to destroy phagocytes & leukocytes

Enzymes

a substance produced by a living organism that acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction.

Paroxysm

a sudden recurrence or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms.

Endospores

a thick-walled cell produced by a bacterium to enable it to survive unfavorable environmental conditions

Exotoxins

a toxin, generally a protein, produced by a microorganism and excreted into its surrounding medium

Convalescent carrier

a type of carrier that transmits a microbe while recovering from a disease

Mechanical Injury

a type of microbial injury caused by a blockage of an artery or vein

Physiological Injury

a type of microbial injury caused by plasmoptysis

Leucocyte

a white (blood) cell; a colorless cell that circulates in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease

Biological vector

an arthropod vector in which the disease causing organism multiplies or develops within the arthropod prior to becoming infective for a susceptible individual; mosquito bite

Capsules

an envelope of polysaccharide or protein that surrounds certain microorganisms; reduces/prevents phagocytosis, helping pathogenicity

Endoenzyme

an enzyme that is produced and functions inside cells

Pandemic disease

an epidemic that has become very widespread or is worldwide.

Carrier

an individual who harbors and may disseminate pathogenic organisms but may or may not show symptoms of the disease; types include passive, active, convalescent, and chronic

Mixed infection

an infection in which more than one microbe is present

Focal infection

an infection in which organisms are originally confined to one area but enter the blood or lymph vessel and spread to other parts of the body

Local infection

an infection that remains confined to the area where pathogens are introduced; infection caused by germs lodging and multiplying at one point in a tissue and remaining there

Arthropods

an invertebrate animal with jointed legs, such as an insect or a crustacean.

Primary infection

an original infection from which a second one develops; the first infection a host has after a period of health

Vector

any agent that carries a disease from one host to another; biological and mechanical

Fomites

any inanimate object to which infectious material adheres and can be transmitted

Ectoenzyme

any of a group of enzymes secreted from the cells in which they are produced into the surrounding medium; extracellular enzyme

Disease

any structural or functional change in body tissue

Flora

bacteria that inhabit body organs: all the usually harmless bacteria inhabiting a part of the body, regarded as a group or population

Endotoxins

bacterial toxin confined within the body of a bacterium freed only when the bacterium is broken down; found only in gram negative bacteria

Exogenous

coming from the outside of the body.

Septicemia

condition characterized by the multiplication of bacteria in blood; commonly known as blood poisoning

Bacteremia

condition in which bacteria are in the bloodstream but do not multiply there.

Sapremia

condition where saprophytic bacteria are present in the blood

Hemolysins

destroy leukocytes; lipids and proteins that cause lysis of red blood cells by destroying their cell membrane

Zoonoses

disease of animals that may be secondarily transmitted to man.

Epidemic disease

disease that attacks a large number of persons in a community at the same time.

Sporadic disease

disease that occurs occasionally in a random or isolated manner

Pyrogen

fever causing toxin

Endogenous

growing or originating from within an organism

Fulminating

having rapid and severe onset, usually fatal

Spore

highly resistant form assumed by certain species of bacteria when grown under adverse influences; the reproductive cells of certain types of organism.

True Pathogens

invade healthy hosts; real or genuine disease-producing organism

Opportunistic Pathogen

invade weakened hosts; An organism that exists as part of the normal flora but may become pathogenic under certain conditions.

Gangrene

ischemic necrosis plus putrefaction.

Avirulent

lacking disease-producing ability.

Vegetative bacteria

nonsporeforming bacteria or spore-forming bacteria in their nonsporing state.

Exogenous infections

originating outside the body, an organ, or part of the body

Toxins

poisonous substance produced by certain microorganisms or other organisms.

Toxemia

presence of toxins in the blood; distribution throughout the body of poisonous products of bacteria growing in a focal or local site, thus producing generalized symptoms

Sporulation

production of spores or division into spores.

Virulence

relative power and degree of pathogenicity possessed by a microbe to produce disease

Plasmolysis

shrinking of a cell when suspended in a hypertonic solution.

Direct contact

spread of a disease more or less directly from person to person. Disease—any change from a state of health; interruption in the normal functioning of a body structure.

Defervesence

step of the infection process characterized by the decline of symptoms

Fastigium

step of the infection process characterized by the height of the specific symptoms

Incubation

step of the infection process characterized by the time from exposure to the first vague symptoms

Prodromal period

step of the infection process characterized by the time from the first appearance of vague symptoms to the appearance of specific symptoms

Invasion

step of the infection process characterized by the time of specific symptoms

Symptoms

subjective disturbances caused by disease that are felt or experienced by the patient but not directly measurable (for example, pain - the patient feels it definitely, but it cannot he seen, heard, or touched).

Fibrinolysin

substance that dissolves or destroys fibrin; breaks down clots

Systemic

system-wide

Pathogenicity

the ability to cause disease; toxins, enzymes, endospores, and capsules aid this

Contamination

the act of introducing disease, germs, or infectious material into an area or substance

Plasmoptysis

the bursting fourth of protoplasm from a cell, through rupture of the cell wall

phagocytosis

the engulfment of bacteria & other foreign particles

Elective Location (tissue affinity site)

the favored site of a microbe to cause a disease

Portals of Entry / Exit

the means by which a pathogenic organism enters the body to produce disease

Host

the organism from which a microorganism obtains its nourishment

Viremia

the property of producing toxins

Etiology

the study of a disease's cause.

Epidemiology

the study of the spread of a disease

Indirect Transmission

the transfer of disease-causing pathogens via indirect contact (food, water, air, and zoonoses)

Indigenous flora/Normal Flora

those microbes which are typically found on/in a host organism, but do not tend to cause harm to that organism

Enterotoxin

toxin that brings about diarrhea and vomiting, usually following ingestion of contaminated food.

Hypothermogen

toxin that causes chills

Mechanical vector

transfer of infection by insects in which the infectious agent is spread mechanically and undergoes no cycle of development in the body of the particular insect; fly walking on bacteria, then on your sandwich

Endogenous infections

type of infection produced from inside the host

Macroscopic

visible to the naked eye