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Vocabulary for Microbiology

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Term
Definition
Essential Nutrient   any vitamin, amino acid, nutrient or mineral that cannot be formed by the body and is therefore supplied by the diet  
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Psychrophile   microorganism that thrives at low temperature (0-20 *C)  
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Mesophile   microorganism that grows at intermediate temperatures  
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Thermophile   microorganism that thrives at a temperature of 50*C or higher  
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Hyperthermophile   microorganism that thrives at very high temperatures  
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Photoautotroph   organism that uses light for its energy and CO2 for its carbon needs  
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Chemoautotroph (lithoautotroph)   organism that relies upon inorganic chemicals for its energy and CO2 for its carbon  
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Chemoheterotroph   microorganism that get their nutritional needs from organic compounds  
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Aerobe   microorganism that lives and grows in the presence of free gaseous oxygen  
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Anaerobe   microorganism that grows best in the absence of oxygen  
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Obligate   without alternative; restricted to a particular characteristic  
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Facultative   capacity of microbes to adapt or adjust to variations, not obligate  
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Microaerophile   aerobic bacterium that requires oxygen at a concentration less than that of the atmosphere  
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Capnophile   microorganism that thrives in high concentrations of CO2  
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Mutualism   organisms living in an obligatory, but mutually beneficial relationship  
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Commensalism   unequal relationship where one organism is benefitted without harming the other  
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Parasitism   a relationship between two organisms where one is harmed and one is benefitted  
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Synergism   correlated action by two or more microbes or drugs that result in a heightened response or greater activity  
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Antagonism   relationship in which organisms compete for survival in a common environment by inhibiting or destroying one another  
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Saprobe   a microbe that decomposes organic remains from dead organisms  
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Biofilm   a complex association that arises from a mixture of microorganisms growing together on the surface of a habitat  
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Generation time   time required for a complete fission cycle- from parent cell to two new daughter cells  
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Lag   early phase of population growth during which no signs of growth occur  
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Exponential   maximum growth rate in the growth curve  
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Stationary   survival mode where cells stop growing  
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Death   end of cell growth due to nutrition lack, depletion of environment, and accumulation of wastes  
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Turbidity   cloudy appearance of nutrient solution in a test tube due to microbial growth  
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Osmosis   diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane in the direction of lower water concentration  
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Isotonic   two solutions that have the same osmotic pressure, no net movement  
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Hypotonic   having a lower osmotic pressure than a reference solution  
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Hypertonic   having a greater osmotic pressure than a reference solution  
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Binary fission   formation of two new cells of equal size due to parent cell division  
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Sterilization   any process that completely removes or destroys all viable microorganisms including viruses  
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Disinfection   destruction of pathogenic, nonsporulating microbes or their toxins, usually on inanimate surfaces  
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Antisepsis   chemical treatment to kill or inhibit the growth of all vegetative microorganisms on body surfaces  
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Decontamination   removal or neutralization of an infectious, poisonous, or injurious agent from a site  
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Sanitization   clean inanimate objects using soap so that they are free of high levels of microorganisms  
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Sepsis   the state of putrefaction, the presence of pathogenic organisms or their toxins in tissue or blood  
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Asepsis   a condition free of viable pathogenic microorganisms  
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Degermination   to physically remove surface oils, debris, and soil from skin to reduce the microbial load  
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Microbial death   death of microbe  
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Thermal Death Time (TDT)   the least amount of time to kill all cells of a culture at a specified temperature  
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Thermal Death Point (TDP)   the lowest temperature that achieves sterilization in a given quantity of broth culture upon a ten minute exposure  
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Denature   molecular alteration resulting in the loss of normal characteristics  
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Aqueous   water solvent  
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Tinctures   a medicinal substance dissolved in an alcoholic solvent  
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Oligodynamic   chemical having antimicrobial activity in minuscule amounts  
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antibiotic   a chemical substance from one microorganism that can inhibit or kill another microbe even in minute amounts  
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Resistant R factors   plasmids, typically typically shared among bacteria by conjugation that provide resistance to the effects of antibiotics  
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Beta-lactamases   enzyme secreted by certain type of bacteria that cleaves the beta-lactam ring of penecillin and cephalosporin and thus provides for resistance against the antibiotic  
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Probiotics   preparations of live microbes used as a preventative or therapeutic measure to displace or compete with potential pathogens  
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Prebiotics   nutrients used to stimulate the growth of favorable biota in the intestine  
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Biota   beneficial or harmless, resident bacteria commonly found on or in the human body  
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Superinfection   an infection occurring during antimicrobial therapy that is caused by an overgrowth of drug resistant microorganisms  
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Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)   the smallest concentration of drug needed to visibly control microbial growth  
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Therapeutic index (TI)   the ratio of the toxic dose to the effective therapeutic dose that is used to access the safety and reliability of the drug  
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