What Are Microorganisms?

Microorganisms (Latin micro = small) are living beings so small (< 40 µm or 0.04 mm) that they are not visible by the naked eye. Microorganisms related to human health include certain bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

Synonyms: microbes, germs, bugs.

Types of Microorganisms

Microorganisms can be, according to their characteristics, divided into several groups:

• bacteria, viruses, certain fungi and parasites
• pathogenic (capable of causing disease), non-pathogenic, and opportunistic (causing disease when they have an opportunity, like in people with low immune system)
• acellular (without cell, like viruses), unicellular (bacteria, yeasts and certain parasites), or multi-cellular (molds)

continue reading Microorganisms – Types, Harmful Effects on Human Body, Pictures

What Is Infection?

An infection is an invasion and multiplying of pathogenic microbes in the body tissues in which they are not usually present (1). Pathogenic means capable of causing disease. Infection does not always cause a disease.

Definitions of Infection-Related Terms

A colonization is the usual presence of non-pathogenic and even potentially pathogenic microbes on the skin, in the nose, mouth, bowel, penile or vaginal mucosa, as a part of normal human flora, in the amount not harmful for the body – this is not an infection. An example is the presence of Lactobacilus acidophilus bacteria in the colon.

A contamination is the presence of germs which do not multiply, for example, in a contaminated (not infected)wound. Infected or septic wound contains multiplying microbes. Contamination also refers to presence of pathogenic microbes on medical equipment, in the water, food etc.

continue reading Infection – Definition, Causes, Transmission, Symptoms, Signs

What Is Sepsis?

Sepsis (Greek sepsis= putrefaction, decay) is an exaggerated response of body’s immune system to an infection, like severe pneumonia or cellulitis, which has spread to the blood; it is also called blood infection. If treatment does not start promptly, sepsis may be deadly.

NOTE: Bacteremia, viremia, fungemia or parasitemia refer only to a presence of microbes in the blood, which by themselves rarely causes any symptoms, while sepsis is always a serious condition with detectable inflammation in the blood and obvious symptoms. Check what septic means.

continue reading Blood Infection or Sepsis – Causes, Symptoms, Signs, Treatment

What Is The Heart

The heart (in Latin cor; in Greek kardia) is a muscular organ that pumps the blood through the vessels, supplying the body cells with oxygen and nutrients. Together with the brain, the heart is the center of one’s personality and emotional life.

Location of the Heart

The heart lies in the middle of the chest, between the right and left lung, behind and slightly to the left of the breastbone (Picture 1).

Picture 1. Heart lies behind the breastbone (sternum)
(source: Wikipedia.org)

continue reading Heart Disease Types and Symptoms; Physiology, Pictures, Video

Septicemia Is Not Clearly Defined

A term septicemia may cause a lot of confusion; for some it refers to bacteremia (presence of bacteria in the bloodstream) and for others it refers to sepsis (bacteremia + blood inflammation). Since a term septicemia is still widely used, a reader should be aware of its two possible meanings in different health articles.

Blood Poisoning Is Not An Appropriate Term

To ad to the confusion, a term blood poisoning is often used as a synonym for septicemia (or sepsis). Poisoning can be caused by substances other than those released by microbes, while sepsis is always caused by microbes, so a term blood infection is preferable as an informal name for sepsis.

Autoimmune disorders are those diseases that occur as a result of the body’s immune system attacking different cells, tissues, organs or the entire body. The body has a number of mechanisms to prevent the immune system from attacking its own tissues but under certain conditions, these self regulating mechanisms may fail, leading to an autoimmune disease.

continue reading Types of Autoimmune Diseases, Causes & Blood Tests

Bacteremia – Definition

Bacteremia (from bacteria + Latin suffix -emia = blood related) is the presence of the bacteria in the bloodstream (1).

Bacteremia is not the same as septicemia (sepsis), which is bacteremia accompanied with an inflammation in the blood.

Both Gram-positive bacteria, like staphylococci or streptococci, or Gram-negative bacteria, like Bacteroides, may be involved in bacteremia.

continue reading What Is Bacteremia – Causes and Symptoms

What Is Paleness?

Paleness (pallor in Latin) is abnormal loss of color from normal skin or mucous membranes due to reduced amount of the blood in the skin arteries.

Paleness should be distinguished from other causes of prominent white skin:

• Fair skin is genetically determined skin hue with low concentration of skin pigment (melanin) in the skin. This skin hue is common in people in north European countries (Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Scandinavian countries).
• Absence of skin tan from sun avoidance.
• Myxedema (in hypothyroidism) – swelling of under-skin tissues causes pale appearance of the skin.
• Albinism is a rare genetic disorder with partial or complete lack of melanin in the skin, hair and iris of the eye. Affected persons have white skin and hair, and red iris.
• Vitiligo is a patchy loss of skin color due to destruction of pigment cells (melanocytes) from an unknown cause.

continue reading Pallor – Causes of Pale Skin or Paleness

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell known as granulocytes. An eosinophil plays an important part in immune response within the body and changes in eosinophil blood cell count may be noted with certain allergic conditions and infections.

Peripheral Blood Eosinophil Count Values or Readings

Any abnormality in eosinophil count is usually detected on a complete blood count (CBC) or full blood count (FBC) test. In most blood work, eosinophil count is expressed as the number of cells per cubic microliter. (µL) Alternatively, the eosinophil count may be recorded as a percentage of total white blood cell (leukocyte) count, along with other white blood cells like monocytes, basophils, neturophils or lymphocytes.

continue reading Eosinophil Blood Cell Count – Eosinphilia

Diabetes is a term for glucose intolerance where the body cannot adequately manage the blood glucose levels. This is usually caused by insulin resistance (intolerance), reduced levels of insulin or the absence of insulin. Insulin is the hormone secreted by the pancreas that helps regulate blood glucose levels. When insulin is secreted, the body cells increase the uptake of glucose from the blood and excess glucose is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver and muscle cells. Any glucose above and beyond may be converted into fat and stored in fat cells.

continue reading Diabetes and Immunity (Immune Causes)