Infection
The state produced by the establishment of an infective agent in or on a suitable host.
Contagious
Communicable by direct or indirect contact.
Virulent
An infectious agent that is likely to cause disease upon entering a host.
Transmission
The way a microbial organism moves from one host to another.
Bacteria
Single-celled, prokaryotic, microorganisms that are often aggregated into colonies or motile by means of flagella, typically live in soil, water, organic matter, or the bodies of plants and animals, are usually autotrophic, saprophytic, or parasitic in nu
Viruses
Any of a large group of non-living, submicroscopic infective agents that typically contain a protein coat surrounding an RNA or DNA core of genetic material. Viruses are not cellular and require a host in which to replicate. They are able to cause various
Fungus
Saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing eukaryotic organisms that lack chlorophyll and include molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms, and yeasts.
Protozoan
Any eukaryotic protist of the phylum or subkingdom Protozoa.
Helminths
A large, eukaryotic, multi-cellular worm (as a tapeworm, liver fluke, ascarid, or leech).
Prions
Any of various infectious proteins that are abnormal forms of normal cellular proteins. They proliferate by inducing normal proteins to convert to the abnormal form causing diseases such as: as mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and kuru.
Microbiology
A branch of biology dealing with microscopic forms of life (such as archaea, bacteria, protozoans, fungi) and with non-living viruses and prions.
Aseptic technique
A procedure performed under sterile conditions.
Gram stain
A process by which the cell wall structure of bacteria is determined using a series of reagents. This is considered a differential stain as the differences in bacteria are discovered. Bacteria are either Gram positive (they stain purple) or Gram negative
Bacillus
A cylindrical or rod-shaped bacterium.
Coccus
A spherical bacterium.
Spirillum
A spiral-shaped bacterium.