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U

  • UHT pasteurization method of pasteurization that exposes milk to ultra-high temperatures (near 140 °C) for a few seconds, effectively sterilizing it so that it can be sealed and stored for long periods without refrigeration
  • ulcer open sore
  • ultramicrotome a device that cuts thin sections for electron microscopy
  • unit membrane biological membrane composed of two layers of phospholipid molecules with the nonpolar tails associating to form a hydrophobic barrier between the polar heads; also called lipid bilayer
  • unsaturated fatty acid lipid with hydrocarbon chains containing one or more carbon-carbon double bonds and subsequently fewer than the maximum number of hydrogen atoms per chain
  • uracil pyrimidine nitrogenous base found only in RNA nucleotides
  • ureter duct that transports urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder
  • ureteritis inflammation of the ureter
  • urethra duct through which urine passes from the urinary bladder to leave the body through the urinary meatus
  • urethritis inflammation of the urethra
  • urinary bladder an organ that stores urine until it is ready to be excreted
  • urinary meatus the opening through which urine leaves the body
  • use-dilution test a technique for determining the effectiveness of a chemical disinfectant on a surface; involves dipping a surface in a culture of the targeted microorganism, disinfecting the surface, and then transferring the surface to a fresh medium to see if bacteria will grow
  • uterus female reproductive organ in which a fertilized egg implants and develops

V

  • vaccination inoculation of a patient with attenuated pathogens or antigens to activate adaptive immunity and protect against infection
  • vagina female reproductive organ that extends from the vulva to the cervix
  • vaginitis inflammation of the vagina
  • vaginosis an infection of the vagina caused by overgrowth of resident bacteria
  • vancomycin cell wall synthesis inhibitor of the glycopeptide class
  • vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) pathogen with intermediate vancomycin resistance due to increased targets for and trapping of vancomycin in the outer cell wall
  • vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) pathogens resistant to vancomycin through a target modification of peptidoglycan subunit peptides that inhibit binding by vancomycin
  • vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) pathogen with resistance to vancomycin that has arisen as a result of the horizontal gene transfer of vancomycin resistance genes from VRE
  • variolation the historical practice of inoculating a healthy patient with infectious material from a person infected with smallpox in order to promote immunity to the disease
  • vas deferens pair of ducts in the male reproductive system that conduct sperm from the testes and seminal fluid to the ejaculatory duct
  • vasculitis inflammation affecting blood vessels (either arteries or veins)
  • VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test test for syphilis that detects anti-treponemal antibodies to the phospholipids produced due to the tissue destruction by Treponema pallidum ; antibodies are detected through a flocculation reaction with cardiolipin extracted from beef heart tissue
  • vector animal (typically an arthropod) that transmits a pathogen from one host to another host; DNA molecules that carry DNA fragments from one organism to another
  • vegetative cell a cell that is actively growing and dividing, and does not contain an endospore
  • vehicle transmission transfer of a pathogen between hosts via contaminated food, water, or air
  • vein blood vessel that returns blood from the tissues to the heart for recirculation
  • vertical direct transmission transfer of a pathogen from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding
  • vertical gene transfer transfer of genes from parent to offspring
  • viable cell live cell; live cells are usually detected as colony-forming units
  • viable plate count direct method of measuring microbial growth in a culture; the number of viable or live cells is usually expressed in CFU/mL
  • viral conjunctivitis inflammation of the conjunctiva caused by a viral infection
  • viral envelope lipid membrane obtained from phospholipid membranes of the cell that surrounds the capsid
  • viral hemagglutination inhibition assay assay used to quantify the amount of neutralizing antibody against a virus by showing a decrease in hemagglutination caused by a standardized amount of virus
  • viral titer number of virions per unit volume
  • viremia presence of virus in blood
  • viricide chemical or physical treatment that destroys or inactivates viruses
  • virion inert particle that is the reproductive form of a virus
  • viroid infectious plant pathogen composed of RNA
  • virology the study of viruses
  • virulence degree to which an organism is pathogenic; severity of disease signs and symptoms
  • virulence factor product of a pathogen that assists in its ability to cause infection and disease
  • virulent phage bacteriophage for which infection leads to the death of the host cell; a phage that undergoes the lytic cycle
  • virus an acellular microorganism, consisting of proteins and genetic material (DNA or RNA), that can replicate itself by infecting a host cell
  • virusoid small piece of RNA associated with larger RNA of some infectious plant viruses
  • volutin inclusions of polymerized inorganic phosphate; also called metachromatic granules
  • vulva the female external genitalia

W

  • water activity water content of foods or other materials
  • wavelength the distance between one peak of a wave and the next peak
  • Weil’s disease advanced stage of leptospirosis in which the kidney and liver become seriously infected
  • West African trypanosomiasis chronic form of African trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense
  • West Nile encephalitis mosquito-borne disease caused by the West Nile virus (WNV) that can result in swelling of the brain and death in severe cases
  • western blot technique used to detect the presence of a certain protein within a given protein sample in which proteins within the sample are separated by PAGE, immobilized on a membrane, and then exposed first to an antibody that binds to the protein of interest and then second to an antibody equipped with a molecular beacon that will bind to the first antibody
  • western equine encephalitis serious but rare mosquito-borne viral infection of the brain that is found primarily in the central and western United States
  • wet mount a slide preparation technique in which a specimen is placed on the slide in a drop of liquid
  • wheal-flare reaction localized type I hypersensitivity reaction, involving a raised, itchy bump (wheal) and redness (flare), to injected allergen
  • whooping cough common name for pertussis
  • wild type phenotype of an organism that is most commonly observed in nature
  • Winterbottom’s sign acute swelling of lymph nodes at the back of the neck that is an early sign of African trypanosomiasis
  • wobble position third position of a codon that, when changed, typically results in the incorporation of the same amino acid because of the degeneracy of the genetic code
  • World Health Organization (WHO) international public health organization within the United Nations; monitors and communicates international public health information and coordinates international public health programs and emergency interventions

X

  • xenobiotic compound synthesized by humans and introduced to an environment in much higher concentrations than expected in nature
  • xenograft transplanted tissue from a donor that is of a different species than the recipient
  • X-linked agammaglobulinemia genetic disorder resulting in an inability to produce antibodies
  • x-y mechanical stage knobs knobs on a microscope that are used to adjust the position of the specimen on the stage surface, generally to center it directly above the light

Y

  • yeast any unicellular fungus
  • yeast infection fungal infection of the vagina typically caused by an overgrowth of resident Candida spp.
  • yellow fever mild to potentially fatal mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the yellow fever virus

Z

  • Ziehl-Neelsen technique a method of acid-fast staining that uses heat to infuse the primary stain, carbolfuchsin, into acid-fast cells
  • zone of inhibition clear zone around a filter disk impregnated with an antimicrobial drug, indicating growth inhibition due to the antimicrobial drug
  • zoonosis see zoonotic disease
  • zoonotic disease any disease that is transmitted to humans by animals
  • zooplankton heterotrophic plankton
  • Z-scheme electron flow seen in noncyclic photophosphorylation in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria due to the use of both PSI and PSII
  • zygospores spores used by Zygomycetes for sexual reproduction; they have hard walls formed from the fusion of reproductive cells from two individuals

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Source:  OpenStax, Microbiology. OpenStax CNX. Nov 01, 2016 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col12087/1.4
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