Microbiology Chapter 1 Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, experiments, and foundational concepts from Microbiology Chapter 1.

Microbiology

The study of microorganisms (microbes).

Microorganism

A living thing that is too small to be seen with the naked eye and usually requires a microscope to see.

Taxonomy

A system used to group, classify, and name organisms based on their similarities.

Spontaneous generation (abiogenesis)

The idea that life can come from nonliving material.

Biogenesis

The idea that life comes from existing life.

Etiology

The study of the causes of disease.

Epidemiology

The study of the spread of disease.

Germ theory of disease

The idea that microorganisms are responsible for many diseases.

Pathogen

A microorganism that causes disease.

Fermentation

The conversion of sugars into products such as alcohol by microorganisms.

Pasteurization

Heating a liquid/food to a certain temperature, to kill some microorganisms (Not sterilization).

Bioremediation

The use of microorganisms to help clean or remove pollutants from the environment.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

A Dutch fabric merchant who made SIMPLE microscopes (did not invent them)! First person to observe living microorganisms ('wee beasties'). Carefully drew, described, and published his findings. Did not share his lenses quickly.

Carolus Linnaeus

A Swedish botanist who developed a system of taxonomy and the binomial naming system.

Binomial naming system

A system in which an organism's scientific name has two parts: genus and specific epithet.

Genus

The first part of a scientific name; it is capitalized.

Specific epithet

The second part of a scientific name; it is lowercase.

Three Domains of Life

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Prokaryote

A cell without a nucleus.

Eukaryote

A cell that has a nucleus.

Golden Age of Microbiology

A period when scientists worked to answer major questions about spontaneous generation, fermentation, disease, and disease prevention.

Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher who supported the idea of spontaneous generation.

Francesco Redi

An Italian scientist who tested spontaneous generation using meat and flies, concluding that flies come from existing flies and supporting biogenesis.

John Needham

An English scientist who boiled nutrient broth for a short time and sealed flasks with corks, concluding his results supported spontaneous generation.

Lazzaro Spallanzani

An Italian scientist who repeated Needham's experiment using longer boiling and fused glass flasks, concluding spontaneous generation does not occur in microorganisms.

Louis Pasteur

A French scientist who disproved spontaneous generation using swan-neck flasks, discovered yeast causes fermentation, developed pasteurization, and studied vaccines and disease.

Robert Koch

A German scientist who studied the causes of disease and identified pathogens responsible for diseases such as anthrax and tuberculosis.

Bacillus anthracis

The organism responsible for causing anthrax.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The organism responsible for causing tuberculosis.

Koch's postulates

A set of rules (Sick -> Isolate -> Infect -> Re-isolate) used to determine whether a particular microorganism causes a particular disease.

Richard Petri

A scientist associated with the development of the Petri dish.

Petri dish

A glass dish used to grow microorganisms on a solid surface.

Fanny Hesse

A woman who suggested using agar as a solidifying agent for microbial growth media because it stays solid at temperatures where gelatin melts.

Hans Christian Gram

The scientist who developed the Gram stain technique.

Gram stain

A staining technique that separates bacteria into Gram-positive and Gram-negative groups.

Gram-positive bacteria

Bacteria that stain purple with the Gram stain.

Gram-negative bacteria

Bacteria that stain pink or red with the Gram stain.

Ignaz Semmelweis

A physician who promoted handwashing with chlorinated lime water to prevent puerperal or childbed fever.

Joseph Lister

A scientist who promoted antiseptic practices and cleaning surgical wounds using phenol.

Florence Nightingale

A nurse who promoted cleanliness and sanitation in hospitals and established the first nursing school.

John Snow

An important figure in epidemiology who investigated a London cholera outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water from a city pump.

Edward Jenner

A scientist associated with the development of vaccination against smallpox using cowpox.

Paul Ehrlich

A German scientist who searched for a 'magic bullet' chemical to target pathogens while leaving the host unharmed, and developed Salvarsan to treat syphilis.

Salvarsan

A drug developed by Paul Ehrlich to treat syphilis.

Alexander Fleming

The scientist who discovered penicillin.

Penicillin

An important treatment for bacterial infections discovered by Alexander Fleming.

Scientific method

A process using observations, questions, hypotheses, experiments, and data to investigate natural phenomena.

Hypothesis

A tentative, testable explanation for an observation or question.

Theory

A broad scientific explanation supported by a large body of evidence.

Biochemistry

The study of the chemical reactions of life, including metabolism.

Microbial genetics

The study of how genes work using microorganisms.

Molecular biology

The study of biological processes involving molecules such as DNA and proteins.

Recombinant DNA technology

Technology used to make changes to DNA, including moving genes between organisms.

Immunology

The study of the immune response.

Chemotherapy

The use of chemicals to treat disease.

Environmental microbiology

The study of how microorganisms affect and interact with the environment.