Naming Conventions in Pharmaceutical Microbiology & Parasitology

Flashcards covering historical figures, naming conventions (descriptive, geographic, and honorary), taxonomic hierarchy, and rules of nomenclature in microbiology.

Aristotle

The person who attempted to name all living things as either Plant or Animal.

Carl Linnaeus

The naturalist who attempted to name all known plants, animals, and minerals using Latin and Greek names.

Systema Naturae

The work written by Carl Linnaeus regarding the naming of plants, animals, and minerals.

Descriptive

A naming convention based on the physical characteristics of the organism.

Scientist’s Names

A naming convention used to honor the discoverer or a prominent researcher.

Geographic Places

A naming convention based on the location of discovery or origin of a microbe.

Staphylococcus aureus

A bacterium described as a grape-like cluster of spheres that is golden in color.

Streptococcus viridans

A bacterium described as chains of spheres with a green colony color.

Proteus vulgaris

A bacterium whose name identifies it as first and common.

Helicobacter pylori

A spiral shaped rod found at the entrance to the duodenum.

Theodor Escherich

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Escherichia coli.

Paul Erlich

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Ehrlichia.

Albert Neisser

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Neisseria.

Joseph Lister

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Listeria.

Louis Pasteur

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Pasteurella.

Alexandre Yersin

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Yersinia.

Alberto Barton

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Bartonella.

H. de R. Morgan

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Morganella.

P. R. Edwards

The scientist associated with the microorganism name Edwardsiella.

Legionella longbeachae

The microorganism named after Long Beach, California.

Pasteurella tularensis

The microorganism named after Tulare County, California.

Pseudomonas fairmontensis

The microorganism named after Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania.

Mycobacterium genavense

The microorganism named after Geneva, Switzerland.

Blastomyces brasiliensis

The microorganism named after Brazil.

Providencia spp.

A genus of microorganisms named after Brown University in Providence, RI.

Capillaria philippinensis

A parasite named after the Philippines.

Taxonomy

The classification, description, identification, and naming of living organisms.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

The system consisting of Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, and Subspecies.

Generic name (Genus)

The first part of a binary name; it is always capitalized and may be used alone.

Species name

The second part of a binary name; it is never capitalized and never used alone.

Standard usage (Italicization)

The rule that names of all taxa should be printed in italics.

Handwritten names

A form of writing nomenclature where the names are underlined instead of italicized.

Initials usage (First use)

The rule that the specific epithet must be preceded by a generic name written out in full.

Initials usage (Next use)

The practice of abbreviating the generic name to a single letter after its first mention, provided there is no confusion.

Vernacular names

Common names that should be written in lowercase roman type and remain non-italic.

Subspecies classification

A level below species where the standard form requires the subspecies name to be italicized.

Serovars

Nomenclature that uses Roman type with the first letter capitalized, such as Typhimurium.

sp.

The abbreviation used when referring to one particular species; it is not italicized.

spp.

The abbreviation used when referring to several species; it is not italicized.