BIOL 2415: Microbiology for Allied Health - Exam 01 Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental microbiology concepts, pathogenesis, microbial structures, epidemiology, and cellular processes from BIOL 2415 Exam 01.

Inhalation anthrax

An infectious disease that is not considered a hospital-acquired infection, distinguishing it from central line-associated bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Insect-borne diseases

A category of health conditions whose incidence is likely to increase as a result of recent increases in the Earth's average temperature.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Transmission mismatch)

A bacterial pathogen incorrectly paired with waterborne infection; it is transmitted via airborne transmission rather than water.

Virulence factors

The general term for specific features, structures, or molecules of microorganisms that enhance the severity of a disease.

Normal flora

Microorganisms that normally colonize the skin and mucous membranes without being pathogenic under healthy, standard physiological conditions.

Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis

A physician in the 1800s at an obstetric clinic in Vienna who drastically reduced childbed fever cases caused by a streptococcal pathogen by requiring healthcare workers to practice proper hand washing.

Biological organization (Simple to complex)

The structural hierarchy of matter and living systems ordered from simple to complex: atoms > molecules > cells > tissues.

Glucose

A primary simple carbohydrate that serves as a representative example of a monosaccharide.

Ester bonds

Covalent bonds that are not found in the structure or composition of hemoglobin, which is composed of amino acids, peptide bonds, hydrogen bonds, and polypeptide chains.

Quaternary structure

The level of protein structure that specifically describes the spatial arrangement and manner in which distinct protein subunits interact with each other.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

The primary energy-transfer molecule in a cell that provides usable chemical energy for essential cellular processes.

Metabolism

The sum total of all biochemical and chemical reactions occurring within a living cell or organism.

Enzyme

A biological catalyst that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed or permanently altered in the process.

Buboes

Painful, swollen lumps formed throughout the body in patients infected with Yersinia pestis (Black Death) caused by severe inflammation of the lymph nodes.

Fecal-oral route

A transmission route of contamination where pathogens exit the infected host through the anus and enter a new susceptible host through the mouth.

Biofilm

A structured microbial community that provides microorganisms with a protective matrix, significantly increasing resistance to antimicrobial therapy and host immune responses.

Vector-borne transmission

The mechanism of disease spread exemplified by the transmission of the unicellular protozoan Plasmodium falciparum to humans via the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

Clusters of cocci

The characteristic microscopic morphology and grouping displayed by Staphylococcus aureus, commonly seen in food poisoning outbreaks involving unrefrigerated dairy or egg dishes.

Cytoskeleton (Infection function)

A dynamic cellular network that functions during a microbial infection to allow host cell invasion either intracellularly or intercellularly.

Lysosomes

Membrane-bound digestive organelles whose primary role during an active host infection is participating in phagocytosis to degrade engulfed pathogens.

Streptobacilli

The specific bacterial cellular morphology and arrangement characterized by rod-shaped cells organized in long, continuous chains.

Receptor-mediated endocytosis

A selective cellular uptake process in which surface receptors bind specific ligands—such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL)—triggering targeted vesicle formation and internalization.

Exocytosis

A cellular export pathway specifically characterized by transport vesicles pinching off from the Golgi apparatus and fusing with the plasma membrane to secrete molecules.

Negative staining

A microscopic staining procedure that stains the background rather than the cell, allowing clear visualization of the bacterial capsule.

Golgi apparatus

The eukaryotic organelle responsible for sorting and segregating proteins destined for extracellular secretion from other cellular proteins.

Endotoxins

Lipopolysaccharide components located in the outer cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria that are stable for hours at $60^\circ\text{C}$, induce fever, have poor antigenicity, and are not lethal in small quantities.

Coagulases

Bacterial virulence factors responsible for clotting plasma and walling off infections, directly resulting in the formation of a boil or pus-filled abscess.

Incomplete phagocytosis

A microbial evasion mechanism depicted when ingested bacteria fail to be digested and instead survive and reproduce inside the host phagocytic cell.

Opsonization

The immunological process by which phagocytic cells recognize, adhere to, and engulf bacteria that have been coated with specific antibodies or complement proteins.