BISC 214 Microbiology Exam #1- Glossary Terms
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Created by:
makaelabrewer1 on March 28, 2012
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40 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 AIDS | acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
| antibiotics | chemical substances produced by microorganisms that are capable of killing other microorganisms. Some are synthesized in labs. |
| antiseptic | a substance that inhibits the growth and development of microorganisms without necessarily killing them |
| arboviruus | the arthropodborne virus, carried by mosquitoes and ticks in most cases |
| aseptic | without sepsis; sterile; without pathogens or toxins |
| attenuate | lessen the amount; reduce the virulence or vitality |
| bacterium | a prokaryotic cell that typically possesses a cell wall in addition to a cell membrane, and divides by fission |
| cyanobacteria | formerly called blue-green algae ; prokaryotic ; pigmented, largely photosynthetic unicellular bacteria |
| disease | a change in normal structure and function, associated with signs and symptoms |
| disinfectant | a substance that removes infective particles from a foreign object; generally kills or inhibits infectious microorganisms |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| etiology | the cause |
| eukaryote | an organism who cellls each have a true nucleus enveloped by a nuclear membrance |
| facultative | an organism that can grow and reproduce in aerobic as well as anaerobic environments. |
| fermentation | a catabolic, energy yielding largely anaerobic process in which pyruvic acid is broken down into certain end products, including carbon dioxide, ethanol, and lactic acid |
| fungus | eukaryotic organism occuring as a single cell (yeast) or a long branching filament (mold) |
| genetic engineering | the techniques and mechanisms of manipulating, transferring, and exchanging segments of genetic material in and among organisms |
| HIV | human immunodeficiency virus |
| incubation | an environment in which the temperature and humidity are carefully regulated to develop a population of microorganisms in culture; also the period of time during which microorganisms develop in a host before onset symptoms and signs |
| infection | the invasion of body tissues by microorganisms |
| inoculation | the introduction of disease producing microorganisms into living tissue or culture media |
| inoculum | the material to be inoculated |
| intracellular | inside a cell |
| medium culture | a nutrient substance used to develop and maintain populations of microorganisms |
| miasma | a disease-producing effect arising from the earth or atmosphere |
| microbe | a microorganism; disease-causing microorganisms |
| microorganisms | protozoa, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and some algae. any organism that can be seen with a microscope |
| parasite | an organism that feeds off another living organism |
| pathogen | a microbe that causes disease |
| phagocyte | a cell that takes up foreign material into its cytoplasm by endocytosis |
| phagocytosis | the uptake of particulate matter, including microorganisms by phagocytes |
| prokaryote | an organism whose cell lacks a true nucleus |
| recombinant | refers to a cell with a complement of genes that did not come from either parent cell |
| replication | a duplication or repetition |
| reservoir | a storage site for infection, refers to a host of an infectious microorganism that does not experience the symptoms or signs of the disease. Such host is called a carrier. |
| RNA | ribonucleic acid |
| saprobe | an organism that uses dead organic matter for nutrients; saprophyte |
| spontaneous generation | the concept that microorganisms arose spontaneously, as opposed to arising from an ancestral cellular lineage |
| viruses | agents of disease so small that they can be visualized only with the electron microscope; structurally characterized by an envelope and a core of nucleic acid; incapable of metabolism and reproduction without a living host cell |
| yeast | a form of fungus chracterized by cells without hyphae |
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