Untitled Quiz

Study Notes

Microbiology is the study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Microbes (microorganisms) include bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, and viruses.
Some microbes are pathogenic (disease-causing), while many are beneficial.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1673-1723) is considered the "father of microbiology" for observing live microorganisms in teeth scrapings and rainwater.
He coined the term "animalcules."
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) developed pasteurization to kill microbes by heating liquids.
Pasteurization involves heating to 63-65°C for 30 minutes or 73-75°C for 15 seconds.
Robert Koch (1843-1910) was a pioneer in medical microbiology, working on cholera, anthrax, and tuberculosis.
Koch's postulates were criteria to determine if a microbe causes a disease.
He won a Nobel Prize in 1905 for his work.
Carolus Linnaeus (1735) established the system of scientific nomenclature.

Microorganisms are organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Germ refers to a rapidly growing cell
A large proportion of cells in the human body are microbes.
Some microbes have prokaryotic cells; others have eukaryotic cells.
Some microbes exist as subcellular infectious entities (acellular microbes).
- These include prions, which are protein molecules that cause degenerative disease in the central nervous system.
- Viruses are ultra-microscopic, obligate intracellular organelles containing either RNA or DNA. They possess no energy production system or protein synthesis ability. They force host cells to manufacture new viruses.
Other microbes are cellular microbes, composed of cells, and considered living organisms.

Pathogenic microorganisms are found in bacteria and eukaryotic domains.
Pathogenic eukaryotic microorganisms include fungi and protozoa.
Microbes are categorized into:
- Cellular infectious microorganisms (eukaryotic and prokaryotic).
  - Prokaryotes: Archaea, Bacteria
  - Eukaryotes: Fungi, Algae, Protozoa
- Acellular infectious agents: Viruses, Prions