Microbiology Terms: A Quick Reference
Here’s a list of key microbiology terms and their definitions:
- Agal: A polysaccharide extracted from seaweeds.
- Growth factors: Organic compounds required for growth that an organism cannot synthesize.
- Aerobic: Organisms that use oxygen as a hydrogen acceptor.
- Anaerobic: Organisms that use a hydrogen acceptor other than oxygen and are inhibited by oxygen.
- Aerobic Types:
- Aerobic Extrista: Organisms that only use oxygen as an acceptor.
- Microaerophilic: Organisms that require only small amounts of oxygen.
- Anaerobic
Animal Breathing: Types and Respiratory Processes
Usually, the inclusion of oxygen into an animal’s body is called breathing, but breathing encompasses three processes:
- Ventilation: Oxygen is taken from the environment and brought to the respiratory organ, and carbon dioxide is expelled.
- Gas Exchange: This occurs between respiratory organs and blood. The exchange takes place by diffusion, a process by which molecules pass from a more concentrated region to a less concentrated one without expenditure of energy. These regions are separated by a semipermeable
Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Systems: Diseases
Cardiovascular Diseases
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Blood pressure that exceeds normal ranges.
Arteriosclerosis: Hardening of the arteries and loss of elasticity; blood pressure rises, so hypertension may occur.
Atherosclerosis: Cholesterol plaque build-up in the internal walls of the arteries. This leads to the thickening of the affected area.
Aneurysm: Abnormal dilatation of a blood vessel, generally a main artery, which, when it ruptures, can cause death.
Varicose Veins: Abnormal dilatations
Understanding 5 Serious Diseases: Symptoms and Treatments
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible and it destroys memory and judgment skills. Its main causes are amyloid plaques, that cause degeneration and neuronal death, and neurofibrillary tangles, that affect the part of the brain responsible for memory. Its symptoms are classified into three stages. Firstly, patients show a minimum loss of memory and tend to be less energetic. They progressively become disabled and, finally, they lose control of their body functions and die. It is mainly
Read MoreAdvancements in Reproductive and Genetic Medicine
Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination is the introduction of semen or healthy sperm into a woman’s vagina in order to achieve a pregnancy. Normally, with this technique, in 100 cycles of insemination, 13 result in pregnancy, and in 100 couples who completed 4 cycles, 60 get pregnant. Of all pregnancies achieved, 15-20% are twins and another 15% are miscarried. There are two situations depending on the origin of semen:
Homologous or Conjugal Artificial Insemination (HAH)
The semen comes from
Insulin, Glucagon, and Adrenal Hormones
Insulin
Insulin is a peptide hormone composed of 51 amino acids (aa) and has a molecular weight of 30700 kD. It consists of two chains: an A-chain with 21 aa and a B-chain with 30 aa. Insulin is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the endocrine pancreas. Beta cells make up approximately 80% of the two million islets.
Synthesis: Insulin is initially synthesized as preproinsulin (105 aa), which is then processed into proinsulin (82 aa). Proinsulin is further cleaved into C-peptide
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