The Logic of Disease
This term refers to the fundamental cause of a disease, which may be biological, physical, or chemical in nature.
Etiology
This is the step in the "chain of infection" where the pathogen hitches a ride, such as via contaminated food or an insect bite.
Mode of Transmission
This watery, low-protein exudate is typically found in mild injuries, such as the fluid within a skin blister.
Serous exudate
These are the very first white blood cells to arrive at an injury site, usually appearing within 90 minutes.
Neutrophils
These are the smallest infectious agents; they lack a nucleus and must live inside a host cell to replicate.
Viruses
This type of reasoning starts with a general premise and moves to a specific conclusion; it is concerned with the rules for determining if an argument is valid.
Deductive Reasoning
This term refers to an inanimate object, such as a doorknob or a shared toy, that can carry and spread infectious organisms.
Fomite
These chemical mediators are slower-acting than histamine and are primarily responsible for the broncho-constriction seen in asthma.
Leukotrienes
An increase in this specific white blood cell count is often a hallmark of allergic reactions or parasitic infestations.
Eosinophils
These unusual infectious agents are actually "misfolded proteins" that cause neurodegenerative diseases like Mad Cow Disease.
Prions
This term describes the consistency of an observation; it is the extent to which a measurement, if repeated, gives the same result.
Reliability
This type of transmission occurs when an infectious agent is carried by a living creature, such as a mosquito or a tick.
Vectorborne transmission
This plasma protein system, once activated by an antigen-antibody reaction, creates a "membrane attack complex" to destroy bacteria.
Complement system
This term refers to the "rolling" and "sticking" of white blood cells along the inner lining of a blood vessel before they exit into the tissue.
Margination and Adhesion
This term describes the overall "potency" or disease-producing power of a microorganism.
Virulence
This type of reasoning moves from specific observations to general conclusions and is based on "probability theory."
Inductive reasoning
These are the two general ways a pathogen can enter a new host, such as through the respiratory tract or a break in the skin.
Portals of entry
This stage of the acute inflammatory response is characterized by the movement of fluid out of the capillaries and into the tissue spaces, causing swelling.
Vascular stage
This value is calculated by multiplying the percentage of a specific cell type by the total white blood cell count.
Absolute count
This group of parasites includes roundworms and tapeworms, which are typically transmitted through contaminated soil or food
Helminths
This term refers to the number of new cases of a disease arising in a population during a specified period of time.
Incidence
his term describes the ability of a host's body to resist a pathogen; it is the opposite of being susceptible.
Immunity (Resistance)
This specific cytokine is released by macrophages and serves as a major mediator of the acute phase response, inducing both fever and the "shift to the left."
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α)
This is the term for the process where white blood cells move toward the site of injury by following a chemical gradient or "scent."
Chemotaxis
These microbes are unique because they possess both a cell wall and a nucleus, but unlike plants, they do not perform photosynthesis.
Fungi