1. What are pathogens?

a disease causing organism

2. Define pathology.
is the scientific study of disease

3. Define etiology.
the cause of disease

4. Define pathogenesis.
the manner in which disease develops

5. What three areas are pathology concerned with?

Pathology is first concerned with the cause, or etiology, of disease. Second, it
deals with pathogenesis, the manner in which a disease develops. Third,
pathology is concerned with the structural and functional changes brought
about by dis- ease and with their final effects on the body

6. Define infection.
Infection is the invasion or colonization of the body by pathogenic
microorganisms;

7. Define disease. How does it differ from infection?

disease occurs when an infection results in any change from a state of
health. Disease is an abnormal state in which part or all of the body is not
properly adjusted or incapable of performing its normal functions. An
infection may exist in the absence of detectable disease. For example, the
body may be infected with the virus that causes AIDS but experience no
symptoms of the disease. the presence of a particular type of microorganism

in a part of the body where it is not normally found is also called an infection
and can lead to disease.
8. Are pathogenic microorganisms common among all microorganisms?
Few microorganisms are pathogenic. In fact, the presence of some
microorganisms can even benefit the host.

9. What are normal microbiota?

the microorganisms that colonize a host without causing disease, also called
normal flora.

10. How many bacteria are in/on our bodies compared to human cells?
Many other usually harmless microorganisms establish themselves inside
other parts of the normal adult body and on its surface. A typical human
body contains 1 1013 body cells, yet harbors an estimated 1 1014 bacterial
cells (10 times more bacterial cells than human cells). This gives you an idea
of the abundance of microorganisms that normally reside in the human body.

11. What are microbiomes and why are they important?

The Human Microbiome Project began in 2007 to analyze microbial
communities called microbiomes that live in and on the human body. Its goal
is to determine the relationship be- tween changes in the human microbiome
and human health and disease. The human microbiome is more diverse than
previously thought. Currently, researchers are comparing the microbiomes of
healthy volunteers and volunteers with specific diseases. The
microorganisms that establish more or less permanent residence (colonize)
but that do not produce disease under normal conditions are members of the
body's normal microbiota,

12. Define transient microbiota.

transient microbiota, may be present for several days, weeks, or months and
then disappear. Microorganisms are not found throughout the entire human
body but are localized in certain regions

13. What factors determine the composition and distribution of normal

microbiota? Give examples of each.
Many factors determine the distribution and composition of the normal
microbiota. Among these are nutrients, physical and chemical factors,
defenses of the host, and mechanical factors. Microbes vary with respect to
the types of nutrients that they can use as an energy source. Accordingly,
microbes can colonize only those body sites that can supply the appropriate
nutrients. These nutrients may be derived from secretory and excretory
products of cells, substances in body fluids, dead cells, and foods in the
gastrointestinal tract.

14. What is microbial antagonism? Why is it important?

normal microbiota can benefit the host by preventing the overgrowth of
harmful microorganisms. Microbial antagonism involves competition among
microbes. One consequence of this competition is that the normal microbiota
protect the host against colonization by potentially pathogenic microbes by
competing for nutrients, producing substances harmful to the invading
microbes, and affecting conditions such as pH and available oxygen. When
this balance between normal microbiota and pathogenic microbes is upset,
disease can result.

15. Give examples of microbial antagonism.

For example, the normal bacterial microbiota of the adult human vagina
maintains a local pH of about 4. The presence of normal microbiota inhibits
the overgrowth of the yeast Candida albicans, which can grow when the
balance between normal microbiota and pathogens is upset and when pH is

altered. If the bacterial population is eliminated by antibiotics, excessive

douching, or deodorants, the pH of the vagina reverts to nearly neutral, and
C. albicans can flourish and become the dominant microorganism there. This
condition can lead to a form of vaginitis (vaginal infection).
Another example of microbial antagonism occurs in the large intestine. E. coli
cells produce bacteriocins, proteins that inhibit growth of other bacteria of
the same or closely related species, such as pathogenic Salmonella and
Shigella. A bacterium that makes a particular bacteriocin is not killed by that
bacteriocin but may be killed by other ones. Bacteriocins are used in medical
microbiology to help identify different strains of bacteria. Such identification
helps determine whether several outbreaks of an infectious disease are
caused by one or more strains of a bacterium.
A final example involves another bacterium, Clostridium difficile, also in the
large intestine. The normal microbiota of the large intestine effectively inhibit
C. difficile, possibly by making host receptors unavailable, competing for
available nutrients, or producing bacteriocins. However, if the normal
microbiota are eliminated (for example, by antibiotics), C. difficile can
become a problem. This microbe is responsible for nearly all gastrointestinal
infections that follow antibiotic therapy, from mild diarrhea to severe or even
fatal colitis (inflammation of the colon).

16. How does microbial antagonism help or hurt the host?

Microbial antagonism involves competition among microbes. One
consequence of this competition is that the normal microbiota protect the
host against colonization by potentially pathogenic microbes by competing
for nutrients, pro- ducing substances harmful to the invading microbes, and
affect- ing conditions such as pH and available oxygen. When this balance
between normal microbiota and pathogenic microbes is upset, disease can
result.


17. What are bacteriocins used for?
Bacteriocins are used in medical microbiology to help identify different
strains of bacteria.

18. Why are Candida albicans, Salmonella, Shigella, and Clostridium difficile
important?
LOOK @ #15 (EXAMPLES)

19. Define symbiosis. Come up with an example

The relationship between the normal microbiota and the host is called
symbiosis, a relationship between two organisms in which at least one
organism is dependent on the other
20. What is commensalism? Give an example.
In the symbiotic relationship called commensalism, one of the organisms
benefits, and the other is unaffected.

21. What is mutualism? Give an example.

Mutualism is a type of symbiosis that benefits both organisms. For example,
the large intestine contains bacteria, such as E. coli, that synthesize vitamin
K and some B vitamins. These vitamins are absorbed into the bloodstream
and distributed for use by body cells. In exchange, the large intestine
provides nutrients used by the bacteria, resulting in their survival.

22. What are probiotics? Why might they be important?

Probiotics (pro 5 for, bios 5 life) are live microbial cultures applied to or
ingested that are intended to exert a beneficial effect. Probiotics may be administered with prebiotics, which are chemicals that selectively promote the
growth of beneficial bacteria.
EXAMPLE: Several studies have

SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

When microbes penetrate the first line of defense, they encounter a second
line of defense that includes defensive cells, such as phagocytic cells;
inflammation; fever; and antimicrobial substances.
Before we look at the phagocytic cells, it will be helpful to first have an
understanding of the cellular components of blood.
Formed Elements in Blood
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
16-6 Classify leukocytes, and describe the roles of granulocytes and
monocytes.
16-7 Describe the six different types of white blood cells, and name a
function for each type.
Blood consists of fluid, called plasma, and formed elements that is, cells
and cell fragments suspended in plasma (Table 16.1). Of the formed
elements listed in Table 16.1, those that concern us at present are the
leukocytes, or white blood cells.
Leukocytes are divided into two main categories based on their appearance
under a light microscope: granulocytes and agranulocytes. Granulocytes owe
their name to the presence of large granules in their cytoplasm that can be
seen under a light microscope after staining. They are differentiated into
three types of cells on the basis of how the granules stain: neutrophils,
basophils, and eosinophils. The granules of neutrophils stain pale lilac with a
mixture of acidic and basic dyes. Neutrophils
shown that ingesting certain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can al- leviate
diarrhea and prevent colonization by Salmonella enterica during antibiotic
therapy. If these LAB colonize the large intes- tine, the lactic acid and
bacteriocins they produce can inhibit the growth of certain pathogens.
Researchers are also testing the use of LAB to prevent surgical wound
infections caused by S. aureus and vaginal infections caused by E. coli. In a
Stanford University study, HIV infection was reduced in women treated with a
LAB that was genetically modified to produce CD4 pro- tein that binds to HIV.
Probiotics may not work for all diseases, and studies on probiotics are
ongoing. A Dutch medical team, for example, reported increased deaths in
pancreatitis patients treated with probiotics.

23. Define parasitism.

In still another kind of symbiosis, one organism benefits by deriving nutrients

at the expense of the other; this relation- ship is called parasitism. Many
disease-causing bacteria are parasites.

24. What is an opportunistic pathogen? Be able to identify multiple

examples.
Although categorizing symbiotic relationships by type is convenient, keep in
mind that under certain conditions the relationship can change. For example,
given the proper circumstances, a mutualistic organism, such as E. coli, can
become harmful. E. coli is generally harmless as long as it remains in the
large intestine; but if it gains access to other body sites, such as the urinary
bladder, lungs, spinal cord, or wounds, it may cause urinary tract infections,
pulmonary infections, meningitis, or abscesses, respectively. Microbes such
as E. coli are called opportunistic pathogens. They ordinarily do not cause
dis- ease in their normal habitat in a healthy person but may do so in a
different environment. For example, microbes that gain access through
broken skin or mucous membranes can cause opportunistic infections.

25. Why are these pathogens important?

if the host is already weakened or compromised by infection, microbes that
are usually harmless can cause disease. AIDS is often accompanied by a
common opportunistic infection, Pneumocystis pneumonia, caused by the
opportunistic organism Pneumocystis jirovecii. This secondary infection can
develop in AIDS patients because their immune systems are suppressed.
Before the AIDS epidemic, this type of pneumonia was rare. Opportunistic
pathogens possess other features that contribute to their ability to cause
disease. For example, they are present in or on the body or in the external
environment in relatively large numbers. Some opportunistic pathogens may
be found in locations in or on the body that are somewhat protected from the
body's defenses, and some are resistant to antibiotics.

26. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the skin.

Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus,

Acinetobacter, Brevibacterium; Candida (fungus), Malassezia (fungus)

27. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the eyes.
Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus, diphtheroids, Propionibacterium,
Corynebacterium, streptococci, Micrococcus

28. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the nose and
throat.
Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, and aerobic diphtheroids in the nose;
S. epidermidis, S. aureus, diphtheroids, Streptococcus pneumoniae,
Haemophilus, and Neisseria in the throat

29. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the mouth.
Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces, Bacteroides, Veillonella,
Neisseria, Haemophilis, Fusobacterium, Treponema, Staphylococcus,
Corynebacterium, and Candida (fungus)

30. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the large intestine.
Escherichia coli, Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus,
Bifidobacterium, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Proteus, Klebsiella, Candida
(fungus)

31. Give examples of normal microbiota you might find in the urinary &
reproductive systems.
Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides,
aerobic diphtheroids, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella,
and Proteus in urethra; lactobacilli, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Candida
albicans (fungus), and Trichomonas vaginalis (protozoan) in vagina

32. Give an example of cooperation among microbes that is beneficial.

It is not only competition among microbes that can cause disease;

cooperation among microbes can also be a factor in causing dis- ease. For
example, pathogens that cause periodontal disease and gingivitis have been
found to have receptors, not for the teeth, but for the oral streptococci that
colonize the teeth.

33. Give an example of cooperation among microbes that is detrimental.

?

34. What is the reason for studying the etiology of infectious diseases?
Some diseasessuch as polio, Lyme disease, and tuberculosis have a wellknown etiology. Some have an etiology that is not completely understood, for
example, the relationship between certain viruses and cancer. For still
others, such as Alzheimer disease, the etiology is unknown. Of course, not all
diseases are caused by microorganisms. For example, the disease
hemophilia is an inherited (genetic) disease; osteoarthritis and cirrhosis are
considered degenerative diseases.