A Brief History and Fields of Microbiology

Flashcards covering historical milestones, key figures, scientific experiments, fields, and major microbe classifications in microbiology.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Dutch scientist who began making simple microscopes in 1673 and discovered single-celled protozoa and bacteria, which he called "animalcules".

Spontaneous Generation

An erroneous belief that life forms could arise spontaneously from the combination of air, moisture, and nutrients.

Demonic Theory of Disease

The belief that disease was caused by evil spirits/demons, sorcery/hexes, or divine punishment.

Scientific Method

A framework that allows us to understand the natural world and establish scientific theories that explain and predict how nature works.

Scientific Theory

The best current explanation of a natural phenomenon based on available evidence, including observations, data, measurements, and controlled, reproducible experiments.

Francesco Redi's Experiment

A 1668 controlled experiment using unsealed, sealed, and gauze-covered flasks containing meat, which disproved spontaneous generation and contributed to the Theory of Biogenesis.

Edward Jenner

Scientist who practiced "vaccination" (variolation) in 1789 to prevent smallpox.

Smallpox Vaccine

An example of a "live" vaccine that led to the total eradication of the Smallpox virus from the human population by 1977.

Ignaz Semmelweis

Hungarian physician who in 1848 pioneered the practice of hand washing to prevent infection of patients.

Florence Nightingale

Nurse who introduced hygiene and sanitary procedures in British hospitals in 1855 to prevent infections and founded the first nursing school.

Nosocomial Infections

Infections that are acquired within a hospital setting.

Anti-toxin

A treatment developed in 1890 by Von Behring and Kitasato against diphtheria consisting of antiserum (antibodies) from horses exposed to neutralized toxin.

Louis Pasteur

1850s scientist who described fermentation, disproved spontaneous generation using swan-necked flasks, created pasteurization, proposed the link between microbes and disease, and developed attenuated vaccines.

Swan-Neck Flask Experiment

Pasteur's design in which boiled infusions stayed sterile indefinitely because dust settled in the bend of the neck, but grew microbes when tilted to contact dust.

Joseph Lister

Scientist who in 1867 pioneered aseptic techniques during surgery and developed antiseptics and disinfectants such as carbolic acid.

Robert Koch

Scientist who in 1876 established the Germ Theory of Disease, developed essential lab techniques (pure culture, media, staining), and isolated agents for anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera.

Fannie Hesse

Inventor who introduced agar as a solid bacteriological isolation medium around 1880.

Koch's Postulates

A four-step experimental standard used to identify the specific causative agent of a disease.

Dmitri Ivanowski

Scientist who in 1892 demonstrated the existence of "filterable pathogens" (viruses) using indirect experimental methods.

Paul Ehrlich

Scientist who in 1910 established the principle of chemotherapy ("magic bullet") and created Salvarsan #606, an arsenic-based drug used against syphilis.

Alexander Fleming

Scientist who discovered penicillin in 1920 by observing that fungi produce natural antimicrobial substances (antibiotics).

Bacteriology

The branch of microbiology that studies bacteria and archaea.

Phycology

The branch of microbiology that studies algae.

Mycology

The branch of microbiology that studies fungi.

Protozoology

The branch of microbiology that studies protozoa.

Parasitology

The branch of microbiology that studies parasitic protozoa and parasitic animals.

Virology

The branch of microbiology that studies viruses.

Microbial Metabolism

A process-centered discipline focusing on cellular biochemistry and chemical reactions within cells.

Microbial Genetics

A process-centered discipline focusing on the functions and mechanics of DNA and RNA.

Environmental Microbiology

Study of the relationships between microbes and among microbes, other organisms, and their environment.

Prions

Infectious proteins not classified as microorganisms that cause lethal brain damage, such as mad cow disease and kuru.

Molds

Multicellular fungi that reproduce by sexual and asexual spore production.

Yeasts

Unicellular fungi that reproduce asexually by budding.

Pseudopods

Cellular extensions in protozoa that facilitate movement and feeding.

Cilia

Numerous, hair-like structures on cell surfaces used by protozoa for locomotion.

Flagella

Long, whiplike cellular extensions used by protozoa and bacteria for movement.

Algae

Unicellular or multicellular photosynthetic organisms that form the foundation of the aquatic food web.

Bacteria

Unicellular prokaryotic organisms lacking a nucleus, possessing peptidoglycan cell walls, and reproducing via binary fission.

Archaea

Prokaryotic cells that share features with bacteria but possess distinct cell characteristics and often inhabit extreme environments (extremophiles).

Virions

Infectious viral particles consisting of a protein shell (capsid) surrounding a nucleic acid core of DNA or RNA.

Bacteriophages

Viruses that specifically infect bacterial cells.

Binomial Nomenclature

The standard system for naming organisms consisting of a capitalized Genus name followed by a lower-case Species name, both of which are underlined or italicized.