Take a Shot at Disease Vocabulary
Communicable Disease |
An infectious disease that is contagious and which can be transmitted from one source to another by infectious bacteria or viral organisms. |
Contagious Disease |
A very communicable disease capable of spreading rapidly; caused by passing germs or virus from person to person by contact or close proximity. |
Encephalitis |
Mumps virus can cause this “brain fever” or inflammation of the brain. |
Epidemiology |
Branch of medicine dealing with the study of causes, distribution and control of disease in populations. From medieval Latin epidemia, an epidemic. |
Infectious |
Caused by a microorganism, potentially infinitely transferable to new individuals. May or may not be communicable. |
Immune |
Not affected by a given influence; not responsive to infection by a specific pathogen. |
Immunize |
To produce immunity in, as by inoculation. |
Inoculate |
To introduce a serum, a vaccine or an antigenic substance into the body of a person or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease. |
Measles |
Contagious viral disease, usually occurring in childhood and characterized by eruption of red spots on the skin and fever. From Maelen (middle english) meaning many little spots, referring to the characteristic rash. |
Meningitis |
Inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord; one in 15 mumps cases results in this complication. |
Mumps |
Contagious viral infection of the salivary glands that occurs usually during childhood. |
Pathogen |
An agent that causes disease, especially a living microorganism such as a bacterium or fungus. |
Rubella |
Mild, contagious, eruptive viral disease. Capable of producing congenital defects in infants born to mothers infected during the first three months of pregnancy.
From Llatin, rubellus, red; refers to the red coloring of the measles rash. |
Vaccinate |
Inoculate to control the spread of disease. The term was invented by Dr. Edward Jenner, the physician who discovered the smallpox virus. From the Latin word vacca, cow. Cowpox was a harmless virus while smallpox was a deadly virus. |
Vaccine |
A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or of a portion of the pathogen’s structure that upon administration stimulates antibody production against the pathogen but is incapable of causing severe infection. |
Virus |
Simple sub-microscopic parasites of plants, animals and bacteria that often cause disease. |
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