Terms
Abnormal (noun) – deviating from what is normal or usual, typically in a way that is undesirable or worrying.
Bacteria (noun) – a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms which have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus, including some that can cause disease.
Contiguous (adjective) – (of a disease) spread from one person or organism to another by either direct or indirect contact.
Infection (noun) – A disease caused by microorganisms that invade the tissue.
Marrow (noun) – a soft spongy substance in the cavities of bones, in which blood cells are produced (often taken as typifying strength and vitality).
Meningitis (noun) – inflammation of the meninges caused by viral or bacterial infection and marked by intense headache and fever, sensitivity to light, and muscular rigidity, leading (in severe cases) to convulsions, delirium, and death.
Platelets (noun) – a small colorless disk-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers in blood and involved in clotting.
Pneumonia (noun) – lung inflammation caused by a bacterial or viral infection, in which the air sacs fill with pus and may become solid. Inflammation may affect both lungs (double pneumonia), one lung (single pneumonia), or only certain lobes (lobar pneumonia).
Red blood cells (noun) – An erythrocyte or red blood cell that (in humans) is typically a biconcave disc without a nucleus. (Imagine a jelly donut.) Erythrocytes contain the pigment hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color and transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the tissues.
Stem cell (noun) – an immature or undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that is capable of developing into indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.
Virus (noun) – an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen using a light microscope, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host.