Question | Answer |
virus | The smallest and simplest pathogen (something that causes disease). Viruses are NOT alive. Examples: flu, ebola, chicken pox, cold |
bacteria | simple 1-celled organism that is not always harmful
Examples: strep throat, pink eye |
fungi | More complex than bacteria but cannot make their own food (not a plant)
Examples: ringworm, athlete's foot |
protozoa (protist) | one-celled organism more complex than bacteria
Examples: malaria, dysentery |
pathogen | something that causes disease |
infectious | disease that can be passed from one person to another by spreading germs |
disease | a breakdown in structure or function of a living organism |
epidemiologist | a scientist who maps spread of disease through a population |
carriers | a PERSON who spreads a disease but does not get sick from the disease themselves |
vector | an organism (NOT a person) that spreads disease usually without getting sick themselves
Examples: Mosquitos, rats, fleas |
Cell Theory | The idea that cells come from other cells, all living things are made of cells, and cells are the basic unit of life. This idea came from several scientists - Schwann, Schleiden, and Virchow. |
Germ Theory | Specific diseases are caused by specific germs |
Immune System | A system of our body that protects us from infection and disease |
Disease | anything that causes the body to not function properly |
Communicable disease | A pathogen caused disease that can spread to other people |
germs | micro organisms, some of which cause diseases |
antibodies | created by the immune system to fight and kill diseases that enter the body |
antigen | part of a pathogen (invader in the body) that tells the body to attack and kill the pathogen |
antibiotic | a chemical that kills BACTERIA |
lymphatic system | the secondary circulatory system in the body that allows parts of the immune system to move around the body |
infection | when pathogens get into the body and multiply |
inflammation | redness, swelling, and sometimes heat around an injured part of the body |
vaccine | A shot given to PREVENT a disease |