Disease and Pathogens Practice Flashcards

A set of 30 vocabulary flashcards covering the characteristics, classification, and structures of various diseases and pathogens based on the lecture notes.

Disease

A particular abnormal condition, a disorder of a structure or function, that affects part of all of an organism.

Pathogens

A disease causing agent.

Pathology

The causal study of disease.

Symptoms and signs

Specific indicators often associated with diseases.

Non infectious disease

Non-communicable and non-transmissible illnesses that can be chronic and progress slowly.

Non communicable disease (NCD)

A term for diseases that are non-transmissible and do not spread from organism to organism.

Chronic diseases

Diseases which last for long periods of time and progress slowly.

Infectious disease

Illnesses caused by the spread of pathogens.

Non-self-antigen

A protein found on a pathogenic cell/particle to ‘mark’ it as foreign and trigger an immunological response.

Antigen

Short for antibody generator; a non-self marker that is not part of the body, such as foreign DNA.

Cellular pathogens

A source of non-self antigens including bacteria, parasites, protozoa, and worms.

Non cellular pathogens

A source of non-self antigens including viruses and prions.

Binary fission

A method of bacterial reproduction meaning 'to split' into two, allowing it to divide exponentially.

Virus

An infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat and is not technically living as it is not cellular.

Viral particles

Units that contain nucleic acid, specifically either DNA or RNA.

Retrovirus

A virus that contains RNA as its nucleic acid.

Capsid

The protective structure that contains the viral DNA.

Reverse transcriptase enzyme

An enzyme present within the structure used for retroviral reproduction.

Adenovirus

A type of viral structure that contains DNA.

Prion

An infectious protein particle similar to a virus but lacking nucleic acid that triggers normal brain proteins to fold abnormally.

Fungi

Examples include yeasts, molds, and mildews, which are mostly single celled when they cause disease.

Arthropods

A group of organisms including insects listed as pathogens.

Neurodegenerative diseases

Conditions that accuse parts of the brain and nervous system to gradually break down and die over time.

Spongy appearance

A condition produced when prions on cell surfaces allow too much fluid to enter cells, observable under a microscope in brain tissue.

Parasites

Organisms like worms that can affect both humans and animals, often transmitted through infected meat products.

Worms

Parasites categorized as round, flat, and tape worms.

Protozoan

Single cell organisms that act as cellular pathogens.

Malaria

A disease caused by a protozoan pathogen.

Bacteria

Cellular pathogens characterized by a cell wall and reproduction through binary fission.

Lava stage

A part of the life cycle involved in the transmission of worms.