Introduction to Microbiology and Parasitology

Introduction to Microbiology and Parasitology

• Microbiology is the study of living things that are too small to be seen without magnification.
• Derived from three Greek words: Micros (small), Bios (life), and Logos (science or study).

Definitions

• Microbiology is a specialized area of biology that deals with living organisms that are too small to be seen without magnification.
• Parasitology is the study of organisms (parasites) that take their abode and depend on a bigger organism (host) for nourishment and shelter.

Microorganisms

• Microorganisms are microscopic organisms that are dominant on earth and include bacteria, protozoa, microscopic algae, and fungi.
• They are the oldest organisms on earth.

Categories of Microbes

• No specific categories mentioned in the text.

Divisions of Microbiology

• Helminthology: the study of worms.

Branches of Microbiology

• Medical Microbiology: the study of pathogens, the diseases they cause, and the body's defenses against disease.
• Public Health Microbiology and Epidemiology: monitors and controls the spread of disease in communities.
• Immunology: the study of the complex web of immune responses to infection by microorganisms.
• Environmental Microbiology/Microbial Ecology: the study of microbes in their natural habitats.
• Industrial/Applied Microbiology: the study of the practical uses of microbes in food processing, industrial production, and biotechnology.
• Sanitary Microbiology: the processing and disposal of garbage and sewage wastes, and purification and processing of water supplies.
• Biotechnology: includes any processes in which humans use the metabolism of living things to arrive at a desired product.
• Agricultural Microbiology: involved with the relationships between microbes and crops, with an emphasis on improving yields and combating plant diseases.
• Food Microbiology: the study of microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food.
• Veterinary Microbiology: the study of the role of microbes in veterinary medicine or animal taxonomy.
• Microbial Physiology and Genetics: the study of microbial growth, metabolism, and cell structure.
• Genetic Engineering and Recombinant DNA Technology: involves techniques that deliberately alter the genetic makeup of organisms.

Significance and Practical Applications of Microbiology

• Presence of indigenous microflora.
• Knowledge of opportunistic pathogens.
• Essential for life, decomposition of dead organisms and waste products of living organisms.
• Bioremediation: decomposing industrial waste.
• Elemental cycles: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus.
• Food for tiny animals.
• Escherichia coli aids in digestion.
• Essential in various food and beverage industries, producing enzymes and antibiotics.
• Essential in genetic engineering, using bacteria and yeast to produce insulin, growth hormone, interferons, and materials for vaccines.
• Microbes used as "cell models" for knowledge of disease causation.
• Knowledge of disease causation: infectious disease and microbial intoxication.

Relevance to Nursing and Other Health Professions

• "Know thy enemies" to prevent spreading of pathogens.
• Advantage in seeing specific vulnerabilities.