Labs vocab (Micro)

defined media (sometimes called synthetic) you know

exactly whats in it and how much of each ingredient

enriched or complex media is when

the exact chemical composition of ingredients arent known

growth media

substance used to grow microorganisms in a lab

growth media must provide…

carbon and nitrogen for bacterial growth

(carbon = energy, nitrogen = proteins & DNA)

sterilized material has

been treated to remove all microorganisms

aseptic techniques?

used to prevent microorganisms from getting into sterilized material

autoclave is a

machine that generates moist heat and increased pressure at a level that (most of the time) effectively sterilizes materials in less than 30 minutes

Liquid media are great for

quickly growing large quantities of bacteria (ex: broth media)

Most pathogens are fastidious which mean they..

require complex nutrient sources and will only grow on enriched/complex media

Endogenous infection is casued by

infectious agents that already live on or inside your body

Exogenous infection is caused by

pathogens that come from outside your body

Reservoir

the place where a pathogen normally lives, grows, and multiplies

A source is

anything that spreads an infectious agent from its reservoir to a new host

Environmental sampling is

collecting samples from the environment (like soil, water, air, surfaces, etc.) to see what microorganisms are present

many stains and dyes are recalcitrant which means

they do not break down in nature

opportunistic pathogen

a mutualistic or commensal microbe capable of prducing disease state if introduced into suitable part of body

turbidity is a

measure of cell density in a broth culture

colony forming units

units used to estimate # of viable cells in sample

ubiquity?

the state of being everywhere

The primary concern with BSL-2 organisms is the

formation of aerosols (can lead ot infection)

aerosols are a

mixture of tiny solid particles or liquid doplets in a gas (usually air)

Aerosols are problematic because

we are generally unaware of their production, and they remain in the air long after the procedure is complete.