Glossary .:. Source References .:. All References
| Term | Definition | Source |
| abrasion | the rubbing or scraping of the surface layer of cells or tissue from an area of the skin or mucous membrane | MED |
| abscess | localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue | MED |
| abundance | the total number of individuals, or biomass, of a species present in a specified area | MO |
| abundance threshold | occurs when the number of species in a given community or ecosystem reach a 'threshold' after which the environment cannot support additional members | |
| accidental hosts | one that accidentally harbors an organism that is not ordinarily a parasite of the particular species | AC |
| achlorhydria | a lack of hydrochloric acid in the digestive juices in the stomach (so that the pH of the stomach contents fails to fall below 4.0 under maximal stimulation). Hydrochloric acid helps digest food | MNC |
| acute | characterized by sharpness or severity [acute pain or infection]; having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course [an acute disease]; lasting a short time | MED |
| acute bacterial mediastinitis | a bacterially-generated inflammation of the mediastinum, which includes the cavity that separates the lungs and includes the heart, great vessels, trachea, thymus and connective tissue. | OMD |
| aerobic | growing, living or occurring in the presence of molecular oxygen; e.g., bacteria that require oxygen to survive | OMD |
| aerosol | a suspension of fine solid or liquid particles in gas; a substance (as a pathogen or medicine) dispensed from a pressurized container as an aerosol; droplet nuclei | MED |
| aerosolization | dispersal (as of a pathogen or medicine) in the form of an aerosol | MED |
| aerosolized | to disperse (as a pathogen, medicine, bactericide, or insecticide) as an aerosol | MED |
| afebrile | free from fever; not marked by fever | MED |
| agar | a gelatinous colloidal extractive of a red alga; [used for bacterial cultures] | MED |
| agglutination | a reaction in which particles (as red blood cells or bacteria) suspended in a liquid collect into clumps and which occurs especially as a serological response to a specific antibody | MED |
| alkaloids | any of numerous usually colorless, complex, and bitter organic bases (as morphine or caffeine) containing nitrogen and usually oxygen that occur especially in seed plants and are typically physiologically active | MED |
| alveolar infiltrates | fluid or particles that have permeated or penetrated the alveoli | MED |
| alveoli | any of the small thin-walled air-containing compartments of the lung that are typically arranged in saclike clusters into which an alveolar duct terminates and from which respiratory gases are exchanged with the pulmonary capillaries; a small cavity or pit | MED |
| aminopyridines | one of a class of drugs which enhance neurotransmitter release | |
| amplification hosts | a species that is highly susceptible to a disease (e.g. plague); infection causes an epizootic and mortality may be extremely high | WHO 1976 |
| anaerobic | living, active, or occurring in the absence of free oxygen [without oxygen]; e.g., organisms that do not require oxygen to survive | MED |
| anaesthetized | to subject to anesthesia; loss of sensation and usually of consciousness without loss of vital functions artificially produced by the administration of one or more agents that block the passage of pain impulses along nerve pathways to the brain | MED |
| anaphylactic shock | an often severe and sometimes fatal systemic reaction in a susceptible individual upon a second exposure to a specific antigen (as wasp venom or penicillin) after previous sensitization that is characterized especially by respiratory symptoms, fainting, itching, and hives | MED |
| anaphylaxis | hypersensitivity (as to foreign proteins or drugs) resulting from sensitization following prior contact with the causative agent | MED |
| anecdotal (reports) | useful information that has not been verified by scientific method or testing processes | |
| animal model | a study in a population of laboratory animals that uses conditions [e.g., disease] of animals analogous to conditions of humans to simulate processes comparable to those that occur in human populations | OMD |
| anorexia | loss of appetite especially when prolonged | MED |
| anthrax | a globally distributed, zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from animal to humans or from animal to animal; caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which belongs to a group of bacteria that have the capability of forming spores | USDA 2007 |
| anthrax; cutaneous | most commonly encountered form of anthrax; arises through natural environmental exposure when the bacterium can enter the skin through a lesion | Chensue 2003 |
| anthrax; gastrointestinal | acquired through the ingestion of undercooked B. anthracis-contaminated meat | WHO 1994-A |
| anthrax; inhalational | inhalation of endospores; may occur through occupational exposure or intentional release of aerosolized spores by biterrorism | WHO 1994-A |
| anthrax meningitis | a rare form; the common portal of entry is the skin, from which the organisms can spread to the central nervous system | Dixon 1999 |
| anthrax; pediatric gastrointestinal | acquired through the ingestion of undercooked B. anthracis-contaminated meat | WHO 1994-A |
| antibiotic | a chemotherapeutic agent that inhibits or abolishes the growth of micro-organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans | WIK |
| antibody | an antigen-binding immunoglobulin [protein] produced by B cells, that functions as the effector in immune response | CA |
| antigen | a foreign macromolecule that does not belong to the host organism and that elicits an immune response | CA |
| antigen detection | confirming the presence of antigen in serum via diagnostic tests | |
| antimalaria (drug) | agents used in the treatment of malaria | OMD |
| antimicrobial agent(s) | agents that destroy or inhibit the growth of microorganisms, especially pathogenic microorganisms | MED |
| antitoxin | an antibody that is capable of neutralizing the specific toxin (as a specific causative agent of disease) that stimulated its production in the body and is produced in animals for medical purposes by injection of a toxin or toxoid with the resulting serum being used to counteract the toxin in other individuals | MED |
| apoptosis | cell death as a result of of induction of an internal "suicide" programm, and which is a normal and essential event in many developmental stages; re: necrosis | HD |
| arenavirus(es) | a genus of the family Arenaviridae that includes the Machupo virus, the Junin virus, and the causative agents of lymphocytic choriomeningitis and Lassa fever; any of the family Arenaviridae of single-stranded RNA viruses | MED |
| arid | climate or habitat with less than 250 mm annual rainfall, very high evaporation, and sparse vegetation | HD |
| arthropod | [Arthropoda] a very large phylum of segmented invertebrate animals with heads, jointed appendages (feelers, mouthparts, and legs) and a thickened chitinous cuticle forming the exoskeleton | HD |
| ascites | abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in the spaces between tissues and organs in the cavity of the abdomen; also called hydroperitoneum | MED |
| aseptic | preventing infection [aseptic techniques]; free or freed from pathogenic microorganisms [an aseptic operating room] | MED |
| aseptic meningitis | a meningeal reaction in the cerebrospinal fluid sometimes occurring in the absence of an infecting organism. It can be due to a virus, foreign substance, diagnostic or therapeutic procedure... | OMD |
| aspirate | to draw by suction; to remove (as blood) by aspiration; appl. to inhale material into the respiratory tract | MED |
| aspiration pneumonia | a pneumonia arising from the inappropriate passage of food, water, stomach acid, vomit or another foreign material into the lungs | OMD |
| assay | quantitative or qualitative evaluation, or test, of a substance; frequently used to describe tests of the presence or concentration of infectious agents, antibodies, etc . | CDC 2002 |
| asymptomatic | without; not having symptoms | |
| ataxia | failure of muscular coordination, irregularity of muscular action | OMD |
| attenuated (virus) | a weakened virus that is no longer virulent; can be used to make a live virus vaccine | OMD |
| auscultation (of chest) | the act of listening to sounds arising within organs (as the lungs or heart) as an aid to diagnosis and treatment | MED |
| autonomic nervous system | the autonomic nervous system is the portion not under concious control; regulates key functions including the activity of the cardiac (heart) muscle, smooth muscles (e.g., of the gut), and glands. | OMD |
| autopsy | a surgical procedure, after death, which involves the examination of body tissues, often to determine cause of death | OMD |
| avian scavengers | birds such as the vulture that feed upon carrion (dead animals) | |
| axillary lymphadenopathy | abnormal enlargement of the axillary lymph nodes | MED |