Definition of Disease

Disease (Latin dis- = lack of, opposite of + ease = convenience, comfort) literally means lack of strength or satisfaction. It also means a person is no longer at ease.

In medicine, disease means an impairment in structure or function of a certain body part or mind with identifiable symptoms or signs. Morbus is a Latin word for disease. This is ideal definition but disease should be seen as any temporary or permanent disturbance in the body that disrupts the state of balance in the body (homeostasis). This balance necessary for a person to be in good health and function optimally.

Illness, Sickness, Malady, Malaise

When referring to patient’s personal experience of a disease, synonyms illness and sickness are usually used. Ailment refers to minor or chronic illness. Malady (French malady = disease) refers to chronic or deep-seated disease. Malaise (French mal- = bad; aise= ease) is a vague feeling of general weakness and discomfort, commonly appearing at the onset of an illness.

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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 a Microbial Culture?

A microbial culture is one of the diagnostic methods of microbiology and is used to determine the cause of an infectious disease by allowing the microorganism to multiply in certain specific media under controlled laboratory conditions. This helps to determine the type as well as severity of the infection by doing a colony count of the organism in the specimen.

Types of Specimen for Microbial Culture

Microbial infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and the specimen to be collected for culture depends on the signs and symptoms of the disease. The correct amount of specimen should ideally be collected before starting treatment with an antimicrobial agent, like an antibiotic, and once extracted, it should be transported immediately to the laboratory for culturing. Special precautions should be taken to avoid contamination of the specimen by organisms in the surrounding skin, mucus membrane and air, during collection. Sensitivity tests may also be done to determine the relative susceptibility of individual microorganisms to certain drugs.

continue reading Sputum and Blood Specimens and Culture Lab Tests

What Are Fungi?

Fungi are a group of living organisms, consisting from unicellular yeasts, and multicellular molds and mushrooms.

A word fungus, plural fungi, is adopted from Latin fungus (mushroom), from Greek sphongos (sponge), and refers to a physical appearance of fungi. Mycology (from Greek mykes = fungus) is a branch of biology dealing with fungi.

Beneficial and Harmful Fungi

Some fungi are beneficial: they decompose dead organisms, they can be used in production of food, they are part of normal human flora. Other fungi are pathogenic, meaning they may cause diseases (mycoses) in plants, animals and human. Certain fungi, like Candida albicans, can be beneficial when present in small amounts in body tissues, but can overgrow in certain circumstances, like low immunity and become harmful (opportunistic fungi).

continue reading Kingdom Fungi – Types, Characteristics, Examples and Pictures of Fungi