Microbial Diseases of the Cardiovascular and Lymphatic System

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering microbial diseases of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, including bacterial, viral, protozoan, and helminthic infections.

Cardiovascular system

The body system consisting of the heart, blood, and blood vessels which carry blood throughout the body.

Lymphatic system

A system composed of lymph, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, and lymphoid organs such as the spleen.

Fixed macrophages

Dendritic cells located in the lymph nodes that maintain surveillance and protection against foreign antigens along with B cells and T cells.

Sepsis (septicemia)

A systemic inflammatory response to circulating pathogens in the blood.

Severe Sepsis

Sepsis combined with organ dysfunction or failure, associated with a $20 - 35\%$ mortality rate.

Septic shock

Sepsis combined with uncontrollable decreased blood pressure, resulting in a $30 - 70\%$ mortality rate.

Lymphangitis

Red streaks caused by inflammation of the lymphatic pathways, often a symptom of sepsis.

Francisella tularensis

A gram-negative rod bacteria and the causative agent of Tularemia, typically contracted from small wild mammals like rabbits.

Brucellosis

A bacterial infection associated with malaise, joint pain, and a fever that spikes as high as $104^{\circ}C$, often transmitted by domesticated animals.

Bacillus anthracis

A gram-negative, endospore-forming bacterium that causes anthrax; its spores can survive in soil for up to $60$ years.

Gangrene

Soft tissue death due to ischemia (loss of blood supply), typically associated with infection.

Gas gangrene

A condition caused by Clostridium perfringens where bacteria ferment carbohydrates to produce $CO_2 + H_2$ gases.

Bartonella henselae

The bacterium found in up to $50\%$ of cats that causes Cat-scratch disease, initially appearing as a purple papule.

Borrelia burgdorferi

The spirochete bacterium that is the causative agent of Lyme Disease, transmitted by ticks.

Relapsing fever

A Borrelia-induced disease featuring fever, jaundice, and rose-colored spots that reappear due to the emergence of antigenic variants.

Rickettsia rickettsii

An intracellular parasite of Dermacentor ticks in the southeastern U.S. and Appalachia that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (tickborne typhus).

Subacute bacterial endocarditis

Inflammation of the endocardium that develops slowly from a focus of infection like tooth extraction, usually caused by alpha-hemolytic streptococci.

Acute bacterial endocarditis

Rapid destruction of heart valves usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Rheumatic fever

An autoimmune complication of Streptococcus pyogenes infections that can cause permanent heart valve damage.

Infectious mononucleosis

A viral disease caused by the Epstein-barr virus (human herpes virus-4) that multiplies in the parotid glands and is present in saliva.

Cytomegalovirus (Human herpesvirus-5)

A teratogenic virus that causes intranuclear inclusion bodies and cytomegaly; it is transmitted via saliva, urine, semen, and human milk.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)

A potentially fatal condition that occurs when a person is reinfected with a second serotype of the dengue virus.

Yellow fever

An illness caused by an arbovirus carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, resulting in fever, chills, and jaundice from liver failure.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)

A fatal pulmonary infection contracted by inhalation of dried rodent urine, causing the lungs to fill with fluid.

Toxoplasma gondii

An obligate intracellular parasite that only sexually reproduces in felines; it can be transmitted to humans via uncooked meat or transplacentally.

Plasmodium

The protozoan genus responsible for malaria; sporozoites reproduce in the liver and release merozoites to infect red blood cells.

Schistosoma

A genus of blood fluke that causes schistosomiasis; larvae hatch in snails and free-swimming cercariae later penetrate human skin.