Mycology and Immunology Review

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from lectures on mycology and immunology.

Mycology

The study of fungi.

Dimorphic fungus

A fungus that can exist in both mold and yeast forms depending on environmental conditions.

Hypha

A long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus.

Mycelium

The vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae.

Coenocytic hypha

A type of hypha that lacks septa and is multi-nucleated.

Pseudohypha

A form of yeast that resembles hyphae but is not truly a filamentous fungus.

Asexual spores

Spores produced by a fungus that do not involve sexual reproduction.

Sexual spores

Spores that are produced as a result of sexual reproduction in fungi.

Eclipse period

The time during viral multiplication when viral components are synthesized but no infectious virus is present.

Lytic cycle

The process by which a virus hijacks a host cell's machinery to produce new viruses and ultimately causes cell death.

Lysogenic cycle

A viral replication process in which the viral genome integrates into the host genome and replicates along with it.

Virion

A complete, infective form of a virus outside of a host cell.

Oncogenic virus

A virus that can cause cancer by altering the host's cellular mechanisms.

Prion

An infectious agent composed of protein that can induce abnormal folding of proteins in the brain.

Microbiota

The community of microorganisms that live in and on a host organism.

Pathogen

An organism that can cause disease.

Epidemiology

The study of how diseases affect the health and illness of populations.

Phagocytosis

The process by which certain cells engulf and digest pathogens and debris.

Antigen-presenting cell

A cell that displays foreign antigens with major histocompatibility molecules to T cells.

Cytokines

Signaling molecules that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation, and hematopoiesis.

Clonal selection

The process by which specific lymphocytes are activated and proliferate in response to an antigen.