Microbiology and Disease Flashcards
Grade 9 · Science · Flashcards
Review essential vocabulary for pathogens, the immune system, disease transmission, and microbiology concepts.
Flashcards
- Microorganism
- A living organism too small to see without a microscope; includes bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and some algae; viruses are non-living but also studied in microbiology.
- Pathogen
- Any agent (bacterium, virus, fungus, protozoan) capable of causing disease in a host organism.
- Bacterium
- Unicellular prokaryote with no nucleus; can be beneficial (gut flora) or pathogenic; has a cell wall (usually peptidoglycan).
- Virus
- Non-cellular infectious particle of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) in a protein capsid; replicates only inside living host cells.
- Antibiotic
- A substance that kills or inhibits bacteria by targeting cell walls, ribosomes, or metabolism; useless against viruses.
- Vaccine
- A preparation of antigens that induces active immunity without causing disease; creates immunological memory.
- Antibody
- A Y-shaped protein made by plasma B cells that specifically binds to an antigen on a pathogen to neutralize or flag it.
- T Cell
- A type of lymphocyte; cytotoxic T cells kill infected cells; T helper cells coordinate the entire immune response.
- Herd Immunity
- Indirect protection of unimmunized individuals when a sufficiently large proportion of a population is immune.
- Epidemic
- A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease within a community or region at a particular time.
- Pathogenicity
- The ability of a microorganism to cause disease; determined by virulence factors like toxins and the ability to evade immunity.
- Antibiotic Resistance
- The evolved ability of bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment, driven by natural selection; a growing global health crisis.
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