BSc Nursing 1st Year Microbiology Nursing Chapter 1 Introduction Question And Answers

Chapter 1 Microbiology Nursing Introduction Question And Answers

Question 1. Define the term microbiology.
Answer:

Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic size.

Or

Microbiology is the branch of science that is concerned primarily with the biology of microorganisms and their effects on other living organisms. “Father of Microbiology”. The contributions of Louis Pasteur in Microbiology are very important.

Question 2.Contributions of Louis Pasteur in Microbiology.
Answer:

Father of microbiology—Louis Pasteur is known as “Father of microbiology” because his contribution led to the development of microbiology as a separate scientific discipline.

Contributions of Louis Pasteur in Microbiology:

1. Coined the term Microbiology: Pasteur coined the term microbiology for the study of living organisms of microscopic size.
2. Proposed germ theory of disease: He established that putrefaction and fermentation was the result of microbial activity and that different types of fermentations were associated with different types of microorganisms.
3. Disapproved theory of spontaneous generation: He disapproved of the theory of spontaneous generation. In a series of classic experiments, Pasteur proved conclusively that all forms of life, even microbes, arose only from their like and not de novo.
4. Developed sterilization techniques: He introduced sterilization techniques and developed the steam sterilizer, hot-air oven, and autoclave in the course of these studies.
5. Developed methods and techniques for the cultivation of microorganisms
6. Studies on pebrine (silkworm disease), anthrax, chicken cholera, and hydrophobia.
7. Pasteurization: He devised the process of destroying bacteria, known as pasteurization (1863-65). This process (pasteurization) is employed to preserve milk and certain other perishable foods throughout the civilized world today.
8. Coined the term vaccine: It was Pasteur who coined the term vaccine for such prophylactic preparations to commemorate the first of such preparations namely cowpox, employed by Jenner for protection against smallpox.
9. Discovery of the process of attenuation and chicken cholera vaccine: An accidental observation that chicken cholera bacillus cultures left on the bench for several weeks lost their pathogenic, property but retained their ability to protect the birds against subsequent infection by them, led to the discovery of the process of attenuation and the development of live vaccines.
10. Developed live attenuated anthrax vaccine.
11. Developed rabies vaccine.
12. Noticed Pneumococci—Pneumococci were first noticed by Pasteur and Sternberg independently in 1881.

Question 3. Koch postulates or principles of microbiology.
Answer:

Koch’s postulates: Koch’s postulates are a series of guidelines for the experimental study of infectious disease. According to these, a microorganism can be accepted as the causative agent of an infectious disease only if the following conditions are satisfied:

• Postulate 1: The organism should be regularly found in the lesions of the disease.
• Postulate 2: It should be possible to isolate the organism in pure culture from the lesions.

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• Postulate 3: Inoculation of the pure culture into suitable laboratory animals should reproduce the lesion of the disease.
• Postulate 4: It should be possible to reisolate the organism in pure culture from the lesions produced in the experimental animals.

Subsequently, an additional fifth criterion introduced states that specific antibodies to the organism should be demonstrable in the serum of patients suffering from the disease.

Question 4. Explain in detail about Historical perspectives.
Answer:

Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic size. Microbiology is divided in four eras the are as follows.

1. Discovery Era:
   • “Spontaneous generation” Aristotle (384-322) and others believed that living organisms could develop from non-living materials. In 13th century, Rogen Bacon described that the disease was caused by a minute “seed” or “germ”.
   • Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723) Descriptions of Protozoa, basic types of bacteria, yeasts and algae. Father of Bacteriology and protozoology. In 1676, he observed and described microorganisms such as bacteria and protozoa as “Animalcules”.
2. Transition Era:
   • Francesco Redi (1626 – 1697) . He showed that maggots would not arise from decaying meat,
     when it is covered.
   • John Needham (1713 – 1781) Supporter of the spontaneous generation theory. He proposed that tiny organisms (animalcules) arose spontaneously on the mutton gravy. He covered the flasks
     with cork as done by Redi, Still, the microbes appeared on mutton broth.
   • Lazzaro spallanzai (1729 – 1799) . He demonstrated that air carried germs to the culture
     medium. He showed that boiled broth would not give rise to microscopic forms of life
3. Golden Era:
   • Louis Pasteur: He is the father of Medical Microbiology. He pointed that no growth took place in swan neck-shaped tubes because dust and germs had been trapped on the walls of the curved necks but if the necks were broken off so that dust fell directly down into the flask, microbial growth commenced immediately.
   • Robert Koch (1893-1910): He demonstrated the role of bacteria in causing disease.
   • Edward Jenner (1749-1823): First to prevent smallpox. He discovered the technique of vaccination.
   • Alexander Flemming: He discovered the penicillin from penicillium notatum that destroys several pathogenic bacteria.
4. Modern Era: Modern microbiology. Modern microbiology reaches into many fields of human endeavor, including the development of pharmaceutical products, the use of quality control methods in food and dairy product production, the control of disease-causing microorganisms in consumable waters, and the industrial applications of microorganisms.

Question 5. Explain the germ theory of disease.
Answer:

1. The germ theory of disease postulated by Pasteur was later further developed by later scientists, such as Robert Koch.
2. The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases.
3. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or “germs” can lead to disease.
4. These small organisms, too small to see without magnification, invade humans, other
   animals, and other living hosts.
5. Their growth and reproduction within their hosts can cause disease.
6. “Germ” may refer to not just a bacterium but to any type of microorganism or even nonliving pathogens that can cause disease, such as protists, fungi, viruses, prions, or viroids.
7. Diseases caused by pathogens are called infectious diseases.
8. Even when a pathogen is the principal cause of a disease, environmental and hereditary factors often influence the severity of the disease, and whether a potential host individual becomes infected when exposed to the pathogen.
9. The germ theory of disease postulated by Pasteur was later further developed by later scientists, such as Robert Koch