Microbiology and Antibiotic Sensitivity Testing

These flashcards cover key microbiology concepts related to antibiotic susceptibility testing, growth measurement, and thermal death time.

Mueller-Hinton Agar

A type of culture medium used for antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Pure Culture

A population of microorganisms that is derived from a single cell.

Inoculum

The amount of microorganisms introduced into a culture medium.

0.5 McFarland standard

A standard used to estimate bacterial concentration for inoculum preparation.

Antibiotic Discs

Discs impregnated with antibiotics used to test bacterial susceptibility.

Zone of Inhibition

The area around an antibiotic disc where bacteria cannot grow, indicating sensitivity to the antibiotic.

Optical Density (OD)

A measure of how much a substance absorbs light, used to determine microbial growth.

%T (Transmittance)

The percentage of light transmitted through a solution, inversely related to turbidity.

Turbidity

Cloudiness or haziness of a solution caused by suspended particles, indicating microbial growth.

TDT (Thermal Death Time)

The time required to kill a specific organism at a specific temperature.

Control Experiment

An experiment that is kept under the same conditions as the test, excluding the variable being tested.

Cdt (Critical D value)

The time required at a specific temperature to kill a certain percentage of microorganisms.