Glossary Terms- Microbiology, Pathology

Question 1

DEFINITION: An inflamed area of pus walled off by a membrane.

Answer 1

Abscess

Question 2

DEFINITION: A condition that presents itself after birth.

Answer 2

Acquired

Question 3

DEFINITION: Hyperfunction of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland after ossification has been completed.

Answer 3

Acromegaly

Question 4

DEFINITION: A disease with a more or less rapid onset & short duration.

Answer 4

Acute

Question 5

DEFINITION: A rare endocrine disorder, occurring when the adrenal glands fail to produce enough of the hormones cortisol & aldosterone.

Answer 5

Addison’s disease

Question 6

DEFINITION: A fibrous band holding parts together that are normally separated, resulting during the healing process after wounds.

Answer 6

Adhesion

Question 7

DEFINITION: Having a hypersensitivity to a substance that doesn’t normally cause a reaction.

Answer 7

Allergies

Question 8

DEFINITION: Congenital absence of one or more limbs.

Answer 8

Amelia (in pathology)

Question 9

DEFINITION: A waxy, translucent, complex protein that resembles starch. ______ degeneration is a form of cellular degeneration present in diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Answer 9

Amyloid

Question 10

DEFINITION: Generalized massive edema in subcutaneous tissue.

Answer 10

Anasarca

Question 11

DEFINITION: A decrease in the number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, or both.

Answer 11

Anemia

Question 12

DEFINITION: A localized dilation (abnormal enlargement or bulging) of a blood vessel.

Answer 12

Aneurysm

Question 13

DEFINITION: Chest pain due to a lack of oxygenation of the heart muscle resulting from inadequate blood flow.

Answer 13

Angina

Question 14

DEFINITION: Mutual opposition or contrary action. The inhibition of one bacterium by another.

Answer 14

Antagonism

Question 15

DEFINITION: Glycoprotein substances developed in response to & interacting specifically with an antigen.

Answer 15

Antibodies (aka Immunoglobulins)

Question 16

DEFINITION: A foreign substance that stimulates the formation of antibodies that interact specifically with it.

Answer 16

Antigen

Question 17

DEFINITION: Preventing or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms.

Answer 17

Antisepsis

Question 18

DEFINITION: Failure of a tissue or an organ to develop normally due to an absence of cells.

Answer 18

Aplasia

Question 19

DEFINITION: Loss of the normal beating rhythm of the heart.

Answer 19

Arrhythmia

Question 20

DEFINITION: Disease of the arteries resulting in thickening & loss of elasticity.

Answer 20

Arteriosclerosis

Question 21

DEFINITION: Accumulation of free serous fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Answer 21

Ascites

Question 22

DEFINITION: Inability to take in necessary amounts of oxygen.

Answer 22

Asphyxia

Question 23

DEFINITION: A sometimes chronic condition in which the bronchi are hypersensitive to stimuli.

Answer 23

Asthma

Question 24

DEFINITION: A collapsed lung or the failure of the lung of a fetus to expand fully at birth. Technically, it’s the loss of lung volume due to inadequate expansion of air spaces, which results in inadequate oxygen & carbon dioxide exchange within the lungs.

Answer 24

Atelectasis

Question 25

DEFINITION: The most common form of arteriosclerosis, marked by cholesterol, lipid, & calcium deposits in the walls of arteries.

Answer 25

Atherosclerosis

Question 26

DEFINITION: A wasting, decrease in size of an organ or tissue.

Answer 26

Atrophy

Question 27

DEFINITION: Dilution or weakening of the virulence of a microorganism, reducing or abolishing its pathogenicity.

Answer 27

Attenuation

Question 28

DEFINITION: The process by which an organism digests its own cells through enzymes that are naturally present in the cell or in surrounding tissues; this normally occurs after the cell or tissue has died.

Answer 28

Autolysis

Question 29

DEFINITION: A postmortem examination of the organs & tissues of a body to determine cause of death or pathological condition.

Answer 29

Autopsy (necrosis)

Question 30

DEFINITION: Self-nourishing, capable of growing in the absence of organic compounds. Organisms that obtain carbon from carbon dioxide.

Answer 30

Autotrophic

Question 31

DEFINITION: Any rod shaped microorganism.

Answer 31

Bacillus (bacilli)

Question 32

DEFINITION: A prokaryotic one-called microorganism of the kingdom Monera, existing as free-living organisms or as parasites, multiplying by binary fission, & having a large range of biochemical properties.

Answer 32

Bacteria

Question 33

DEFINITION: A visible group of bacteria growing on a solid medium, presumably arising from a single microorganism.

Answer 33

Bacterial colony

Question 34

DEFINITION: Agents that destroy bacteria but not necessarily their spores.

Answer 34

Bactericides

Question 35

DEFINITION: Science that studies bacteria.

Answer 35

Bacteriology

Question 36

DEFINITION: Not recurrent or progressive; non-malignant.

Answer 36

Benign

Question 37

DEFINITION: A method of asexual reproduction in bacteria in which cells split into 2 parts, each of which develops into a complete individual.

Answer 37

Binary fission

Question 38

DEFINITION: An animal vector in which the disease-causing organism multiplies or develops within the animal prior to becoming infective for a susceptible individual.

Answer 38

Biological vector

Question 39

DEFINITION: An inflammation of the bronchi, which are the main air passages to the lungs.

Answer 39

Bronchitis

Question 40

DEFINITION: Infected lymph nodes associated with bubonic plague or other diseases.

Answer 40

Buboes

Question 41

DEFINITION: Inflammation of the bursae in certain joint of the body.

Answer 41

Bursitis

Question 42

DEFINITION: A state of ill health, malnutrition, & wasting of the body. It may occur in many chronic diseases, malignancies, & infections.

Answer 42

Cachexia

Question 43

DEFINITION: The depositing of calcium salts, magnesium, iron, & other materials within the cells.

Answer 43

Calcification

Question 44

DEFINITION: Several communicating boils of the skin & subcutaneous tissues with the production & discharge of pus & dead tissue.

Answer 44

Carbuncle

Question 45

DEFINITION: Cheeselike. Caseous necrosis is characterized by pink areas of necrotic tissue surrounded by inflammatory granules.

Answer 45

Caseous

Question 46

DEFINITION: Any injury or disease that produces a physiological derangement in the body that results in the death of the individual. Examples include gunshot wounds, stab wounds, lung cancer, or blood clots.

Answer 46

Cause of death

Question 47

DEFINITION: Formation of cavities in an organ or tissue, frequently seen in some forms of tuberculosis.

Answer 47

Cavitation

Question 48

DEFINITION: A hard, primary ulcer due to syphilis infection appearing approximately 2 to 3 weeks after infection.

Answer 48

Chancre

Question 49

DEFINITION: The movement of white blood cells to an area of inflammation in response to the release of chemical mediators by neutrophils, monocytes, & injured tissues.

Answer 49

Chemotaxis

Question 50

DEFINITION: A large group of nonmotile, gram-negative, intracellular parasites.

Answer 50

Chlamydia

Question 51

DEFINITION: A disease with a more or less slow onset & long duration.

Answer 51

Chronic

Question 52

DEFINITION: Congenitally malformed palate with a fissure along the midline.

Answer 52

Cleft palate

Question 53

DEFINITION: Study of disease performed in the laboratory by means of body secretions, excretions, & other body fluids.

Answer 53

Clinical pathology

Question 54

DEFINITION: A bacterial enzyme that causes blood to clot by converting fibrinogen into fibrin.

Answer 54

Coagulase

Question 55

DEFINITION: A type of bacteria that is spherical or ovoid in form

Answer 55

Coccus (Pl. cocci)