microbiology flashcard Test Questions
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| abattoir |
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| slaughterhouse |
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| abscess |
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| a localized collection of pus |
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| accessory cells |
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| macrophages and other antigen-presenting cells that express, along with class II MHC glyco-proteins, antigen on their surfaces in a form recognizable by lymphocytes |
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| acquired pellicle |
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| the thin, structureless film of salivary glycoproteins that forms on the tooth surface |
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| acquired immunity |
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| the acquired immune status that develops as a consequence of an infection or of immunization with vaccines |
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| acute |
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| having a short and relatively severe course |
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| adaptive immunity |
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| antigen-specific protection resulting from the formation of antibodies and effector T cells |
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| ADCC |
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| antibody-determined cell-mediated cytotoxity; the destruction of igG-coated cells by K cells |
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| adhesins |
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| components on the microbial surface that are used for attachment to host cells or tissue |
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| adjuvant |
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| a substance administered with an antigen (especially with a vaccine) to enhance the immune response to the atigen |
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| aerobic |
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| requiring oxygen for growth |
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| aerosol |
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| a solution delivered as fine mist |
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| aerotolerant |
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| referring to the ability of obligate anaerobes to tolerate the presence of oxygen |
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| aflatoxin |
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| a fungal toxin produced by certain species of aspergillus |
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| agglutination |
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| a reaction in which cells are clumped, as occurs in the interaction of a particulate antigen with antibody |
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| agglutinin |
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| antibody that can cause agglutination |
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| AIDS |
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| acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, an often fatal disease that especially strikes multicontact male homosexuals; probably a defect in cell-mediated immunity in which there is a preponderance of suppressor T cells over helper T cells; opportunistic infections often cause the fatality |
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| allergen |
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| an antigen that elicits allergic reactions |
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| allergy |
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| commonly refers to harmful/unpleasant reactions of immunological or seemingly immunological origin; in the strict sense, a type I reactivity (atopy, anaphylaxis) |
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| allograft (homograft) |
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| a tissue or organ graft between members of the same species who are not identical |
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| allosteric enzyme |
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| an enzyme whose reactivity with another molecule such as its substrate is altered because of interaction of the enzyme with other molecules |
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| alopecia |
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| loss of hair due to disease |
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| alpha hemolysis |
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| a type of blood agar plate hemolysis in which there is partial destruction of the red blood cells and some leakage of hemoglobin resulting in the greenish discoloration of the medium surrounding the microbial colony |
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| alternative (alternate) complement pathway |
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| the complement pathway that is activated at the C3 level; does not require immune products for activation and is therefore important for nonspecific host resistance |
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| alveolar |
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| pertaining to the small sac-like structures in the lung |
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| alveolar bone |
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| the type of bone supporting the teeth |
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| amphitrichous |
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| having one flagellum at each pole of the cell |
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| amylopectin |
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| intracellular storage polysaccharide synthesized by bacteria in dental plague |
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| anablism |
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| metabolic process involved in the synthesis of cell material |
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| anaerobic |
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| growing only in the absence of molecular oxygen |
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| anaerobiosis |
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| life in the absence of oxygen |
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| analogues |
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| closely similar compounds that can sometimes replace an essential metabolite |
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| anamnestic response |
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| a rapid increase of antibodies or effector T cells due to immune memory cells following subsequent exposures (e.g., booster doses) to the same antigen |
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| anaphylatoxin |
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| complement fragments C3a or C5a that mediate intense inflammatory reactions by causing the degranulation of mast cells |
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| anaphylaxis |
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| a type I reactivity in which a hypersensitive individual is sensitized against a specific antigen; reaction primarily involves vasodilation and smooth muscle contraction |
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| aneurysm |
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| a sac formed from the dilation of the walls of an artery or vein and filled with blood |
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| anhemolytic |
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| having no hemolytic activity on blood agar media |
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| anorexia |
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| a condition in which the person has no appetite |
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| antibiogram |
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| pattern of results obtained from tests used to determine a microorganism's susceptibility to antimicrobials |
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| antibiotic |
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| a chemical compound produced by microorganisms that can inhibit or kill other microorganisms |
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| antibody |
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| a glycoprotein produced by mammalian hosts in response to a foreign body called the antigen; the antibody reacts specifically with the antigen that induced it |
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| anticodon |
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| the triplet of nucleotides in a transfer DNA molecule that complements a specific codon on the messenger RNA |
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| antigen |
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| a substance that induces an immune response and that reacts with the products of the immune response |
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| antigenic binding site |
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| the variable region of the Fab portion of the immunoglobulin molecule that binds a specific or closely related antigenic determinant |
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| antigenic determinants |
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| small, discrete chemical groups on the antigen surface that combine with the antigen binding site on an immunoglobulin molecule or on a lymphocyte receptor |
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| antigen presenting cell (APC) (see Accessory cells) |
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| macrophages and other antigen-presenting cells that express, along with Class II MHC glyco-proteins, antigen on their surfaces in a form recognizable by lymphocytes |
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| anti-idiotype |
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| an immune product that reacts with the antigenic determinants of the antigen binding site |
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| antimetabolite |
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| a molecule that bears a strong resemblance to one required in a normal physiological reaction |
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| antiseptic |
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| a chemical compound that can be used on the surface of living tissue and that inhibits bacterial growth |
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| antiserum |
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| a serum containing specific antibodies |
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| antitoxin |
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| a specific antibody capable of neutralizing the exotoxin that stimulated its production |
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| ANUG |
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| acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis |
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| arthralgia |
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| painful swollen joints |
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| arthropathy |
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| disease of joints |
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| arthropod |
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| invertebrate with jointed limbs |
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| arthrospore |
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| an asexually produces fungal spore that is thick-walled and barrel-shaped |
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| arthus reaction |
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| a type III hypersensitivity that is produced when antigen-antibody complexes activate complement; it leads to hemorrhage and inflammation resulting in necrosis |
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| ascospore |
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| a sexual spore of the ascomycetes |
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| aseptic |
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| free of living microorganisms |
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| aspergilloma |
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| a ball of hyphae of the genus aspergillus that accumulates at the site of infection |
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| asphyxia |
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| suffocation |
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| aspiration |
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| a process in which fluids are removed from body cavities |
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| assimilation |
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| transformation of nutrients into biologically useful compounds or structures |
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| asthma |
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| a respiratory condition causing difficulty in breathing |
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| atopic allergies |
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| common clinical allergies involving IgE |
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| atrophy |
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| the wasting away of a tissue, organ, or limb |
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| attenuation |
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| lessening; reduction of the virulence of microorganisms as in a vaccine |
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| australia antigen |
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| hepatitis B surface antigen associated with serum hepatitis (hepatitis B); originally discovered in an Australian aborigine (hence the name) |
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| autocatalysis |
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| a process in which the product of a reaction acts as a catalyst to accelerate the reaction |
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| autoclave |
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| sealed chamber used for sterilizing |
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| autograft |
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| tissue graft from one site to another in the same person |
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| autoimmune disease |
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| disease in which the host's immune system destroys its own tissue |
