Microbiology - Intro Flashcards
Name the 5 types of pathogenic micro-organism:
Virus Fungi Bacteria Prions Parasites
What are the 7 common specimen types collected for culture?
Urine samples Sputum Throat swabs Blood culture Stool sample CSF sample Pus/tissue sample
Whi is mid-stream urine sampled?
To confirm UTIs
Why is sputum sampled?
To determine a chest infection
Why are throat swabs taken?
To culture to check for tonsilitis/pharyngitis
Why are swabs around an infected wound taken?
To detemrine the type of infection
Why is a blood culture taken?
To assess for bacteraemia
Why is a CSF sample cultured?
To check for meningitis
When is a stool sample taken for culture?
When theres diarahhoea
What is the role of microscopy in bacterial infection diagnosis?
Microscopy stains & wuickly detects bacteria in samples.
t doesnt allow for identification & is insensitive
Whats the role of cultures in bacterial infection diagnosis?
Allows identification of the strain of a bacterial infection to tailor treatment,
How is a bacterial sample cultured?
Bacteria is grown overnight on a specific medium so after incubation the colonies are visivle to the naked eye
What makes a site sterile?
Normally it will contain no micro-organisms, commensal or not.
What are examples of sterile sites?
Blood
CSF
Bladder
Lungs
What makes a non-sterile site?
Can contain commensal microbes that may not harm the body.
