WEEK 1 & 2 - INTRODUCTION -TO-MICROBIOLOGY-AND-PARASITOLOGY

Microbiology

is an advanced biology course dealing with the study of microbes, which are extremely small (microscopic) living organisms and certain non-living entities

Living microbes

Are known as cellular microbes or microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, archaea, some algae, protozoa, and some fungi)

Non-living microbes

Are known as acellular microbes or infectious particles (e.g. viroids, prions, and viruses)

Microbes are ubiquitous

microorganisms, or microbes, are found nearly everywhere on Earth, in virtually all environments.

Germs

The microbes that cause disease are sometimes referred to as?

pathogens

The scientific term for disease-causing microbes is?

nonpathogens

Microbes that do not cause disease are called?

indigenous microbiota

Microbes that live on and in our bodies are referred to as our? (human microbiome)

Opportunistic pathogens

microbes that can cause disease, but usually do not; they can be thought of as microbes that are awaiting the opportunity to cause disease